With Fate Aligned Against Us…
Categories: Optic Mayhem, Temporary Housing Authority, The Cat Ranch, Travel Mischief.
It all started at Starbucks.
Last Thursday afternoon, I stopped at a Starbucks at the Charlotte airport before heading back to Philly to pick up my car and drive down to DC and the THA. That was the original plan, anyway.
Then I got a medium chai and a chocolate chip scone. And this was my total:
…which is just further proof that I really AM the devil. So, not only was my flight delayed slightly (no big deal, I’ll get home eventually) but I finally retrieve my bag from baggage claim purgatory, make my way to my car in terminal parking and come to find out….
I have a flat tire.
Mind you, it’s 9 pm when I finally make it to my car. I will not go into the series of events that led to the discovery of the flat tire, for they are numerous and very frightening. So I place a call to Triple A, and am told a service guy will be out by 9:40, tops. I alert the THA that I will indeed be a bit behind schedule, and proceed to wait.
Two hours later, my savior does indeed show up. He manages to get the spare out of the trunk with great difficulty, and gets it in place in record time. He informs me that as long as I drive between 50-55 mph, I should make it to DC on the spare with no problem (contrary to what everyone and their fiancee had to say about the matter). Not only did he put on the spare, he also checked my oil and essentially made sure everything was in the right spot under the hood. (And of course it was, as I drive a Honda.)
The best part of this whole story? When one of the Philly Parking Authority people came up to me and asked why I hadn’t just used one of the white phones to call for help, instead of getting AAA to come save me (this is after AAA man showed up). My question back to her was “What white phone?”. She stated the white phone on the third floor of the parking garage. I asked if this white phone was labeled in some way. She said no. She stated that she and her colleagues had BEEN WATCHING ME FOR THE TWO HOURS I WAITED FOR AAA and thought it would have been a lot easier for me to just use one of the unmarked white phones to call for help. And friends, it was at that point that I wished I could indeed light people on fire as I’ve often desired. Alas, I just fixed her with my steely glare and made my way back to my now repaired car.
I made it safely back to the cat ranch for all of 15 minutes to exchange clothes from one travel bag to another, and was on the road again, headed to my DC Annex. I didn’t get there until 3 am but I tell you what, as always, it was well worth the drive. And, I am happy to report you CAN make it more than 50 miles on a spare.
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