I was in a rotten mood. I had been on four business road trips in a row the week before, and here was the longest trip of them all in front of me. I tried to talk myself into an attitude adjustment. Hey, I was in my adorable new Honda Fit. Life was just fine.
It was night time in the middle of nowhere with a few more hours to drive. I noticed a light on my dashboard. It looked ominous. My first impulse was to ignore it. From the manual I learned it had something to do with tire pressure. “Tires are important parts of cars,” I reasoned, “so I’d better stop.”
The gas station attendant lent me a tire pressure thingie. I filled up my tires and was mighty proud of myself as I pulled back on the road. But the tire pressure light was still lit. At the next gas station, I made sure each tire was at the right level. Then the ominous light went out.
The light was back on the next morning on the drive to my client. I also noticed the car was pulling to the left.
“When I get back, I’ll tell the Honda dealer that not only is there a tire pressure problem but also the alignment must be off.”
Thoughtful pause.
“Hmm. Maybe these two symptoms have something in common.”
I put the thought out of my head until lunch when I took a closer look. Alas, fair reader, you may be relieved to know that I accepted the reality that I had a flat tire.
Help was close to hand. Within twenty minutes, Triple A sent a fellow to help change my tire to a temporary spare. He even took my dud tire to the closest service station so it could be repaired while I worked. I was scheduled to drive all the way home that night.
The service gentleman explained when I arrived that my tire was FUBAR. This is military lingo that I cannot repeat. It meant that my tire was unfixable. This is when I learned that my Honda Fit had a new kind of tire, a kind that can’t be easily found in a small town at closing time. It might take a few days to get the tire I needed. I was apparently stranded, just like in the movies.
But I had resources: a cell phone, a good attitude and hotel points. So I parked right in front of that service station and started making calls. Within a few minutes I found a hotel where my points had earned me a free night. As I was finalizing the details, I realized that my service guy, Ron, was making a few calls of his own.
Ron had a creative thought: maybe the dealer across the street has a Honda Fit. There was low probability of this due to the smallness of the town, the newness of my model of car and this particular dealership’s practice of keeping low inventory.
As it happened, they had two. So Ron convinced them take a new tire off of their new car and put it on mine. And they agreed!
Ron wanted to let me know, but didn’t have my name or cell number. He decided to go out into the cold, blustery evening and troll up and down Main Street looking for my little orange car. He didn’t have to go far. I was still right there in front of the service station finishing up my call. He told me his good news, I was amazed at how easily and quickly my fortunes changed.
While waiting for the tire replacement the next morning, I went on a walk. A few blocks down, I noticed a smooth, white polished rock. Just sitting there on the cement. And so it became my special Bishop rock. I keep it in my car.
I gave my guardian service station angel a big hug goodbye. I was on my way home, in the groove, loving the beautiful views of snow capped mountains and cattle and just adoring being on this road trip. I listened to an inspiring audio book and by the time I got home I was supremely happy.
Cost of new tire? $133
Cost of joy and inspiration? Priceless
Thanks Ron Ryan of Perry Motors, Bishop!