This afternoon at 2:00 pm, I was supposed to catch a train to New York. Before taking off, I had scheduled an 8:30 am showing and a 10:45 meet the stagers appointment right after that, with my weekly office meeting sandwiched in between.
At 8:10 am sharp, I got into my beautifully renovated car for the 7-minute drive, allowing an extra 13 minutes to find a parking space.
The car sounded really funny. I’ve had it back for almost two weeks, and I’ve been back to the shop to check the brake drum (small adjustment needed to stop a squeak) and a wheel bearing goof up they fixed yesterday. Then, I recognized that sound – the flat tire!
It was a brand new tire! Rats!
I pulled out my Blackberry to try to call my 8:30 and realized I had his office number instead of his cell phone. I called a colleague of his for his cell phone, and got a buddy to show the place at 9:00.
Meanwhile, I have Lexus roadside assistance, so I called and they sent a flat tire changer guy. But, after showing up two hours late, he couldn’t get the tire off, because my fancy real estate car has some stupid lock on the lug nuts so my car wouldn’t get it’s Michelins stolen. We couldn’t find it in its place in my glove compartment.
It turned out we had to get a tow truck to take us to Radial Tires, Inc. in Silver Spring. This tire emporium does not advertise at all, at least not anywhere I’ve ever seen. I’ve used these guys for decades because they give me a racecar driver discount (I used to pit crew for an old boyfriend who did showroom stock, and they sponsored his car).
By the time we got there it was almost noon. We were in the burbs. My train was at 2:00. Union Station is downtown! And Radial Tires, Inc. was totally mobbed.
When I realized this was not going to be fast, I almost lost it. I was ready to try tears!
The kid behind the counter got twenty or so waiting customers to agree to give me ups. They were so nice, I did want cry!
In the meantime, I was glad that I cleaned out most of the junk in the trunk, so we only had to remove my Open House arrows and some laundry to reach the spare tire.
So, I’m sitting on the 3:00 train on my way to New York to see my sweetie! He just called from JFK to say his plane has landed.PS
By the time I get to the hotel, he’ll have a Grey Goose Martini waiting for me. My day will get better.
PS I wrote this post Tuesday on my way to New yrok.
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