Do you remember how remarkably clear the blue skies were on September 11, 2001?
Every time I see clear blue skies, my mind goes back to that day. For a long time, the sight of an airplane in the sky also grabbed my attention and brought me back to that day. An airplane in flight still grabs my attention, but more reflective of how we've survived and thrived since the terrorist attacks.
Another example of this flashback is from when I was about 20 years old. I was driving my brand new car home from work and when I was involved in a pretty bad accident. My car was rear-ended by a pick up truck which pushed me into the car stopped in front of me and up onto the curb. I am always afraid of being rear-ended now and am quick to check my rear view mirror when coming to a stop. I'm more concerned about being rear-ended than rear-ending the car in front of me.
Well, ever since Ginny's accident, I've been very cognizant of the sky. Whenever it's bright blue with puffy white clouds, my thoughts go to Ginny. I envision her in the clouds. (The odd thing is, the sky on the day of her accident would have been overcast.)
On our road trip to Florida, there were many expanses of blue skies with puffy white clouds, so I had a lot of conversations with Ginny. I told her that I missed her and knew she'd be watching out for our house if she were still here. I felt like she was traveling with us and asked her to watch over us. I felt comforted knowing she was aware of our travel.
Sure enough, we ran into problems. We were in a congested area along I-95 and Kayla was driving when she noticed that the Tire Pressure warning light came on. We told her to pay attention to any repetitive noises or vibrations on the steering wheel, which began immediately. Kayla had to maneuver the car across three lanes and safely into the shoulder, which she did swiftly. Pierce got out of the car and inspected things; all four tires appeared fine and there was nothing concerning under the car. He took over the driving and got back on the highway.
We immediately heard what could best be described as a flapping sound coming from the tire directly behind me. Luckily, there was an exit just ahead and we were able to leave the highway safely. And, luckily there was a gas station with an air pump right at the bottom of the exit ramp. Pierce pulled the car in, got out, and could immediately see that the tire was low. Upon close inspection, we couldn't find the cause.
Pierce went to try to put some air in the tire only to discover the machine required four quarters. Would you believe there was a quarter right next to the damaged tire?!?! Kayla had three to bring us to an even four. As Pierce went to start the air machine, I discovered a screw in the tire. Remember, we had both just looked closely but something made me look again.
I immediately Googled the nearest Firestone. It was 5:30pm and Robert at that Firestone told me not to drive the car the 15 miles to his shop; that it wasn't safe. He referred me to Savannah Tire right around the corner from where we were but pointed out that they close at 6pm. Kudos to Robert for putting our safety first; he didn't have to refer us to another shop!
We hobbled the car over there slowly and carefully. The attendant wasn't optimistic: IF they could get it in and IF it was just the screw they MIGHT be able to patch it. If it wasn't patchable, they might not have the right tire in stock and the warehouse was already closed for the night. I asked him to be a little more hopeful.
He called in a mechanic who went right out to the car, pulled the tire off, and brought it in to show us.
We were very lucky! The screw in the tire was the least of our problems. We were fortunate that the tire hadn't blown out on the highway when we were going full speed! AND they had that exact same tire. The matching tire on the passenger side was beginning to show similar wear, so we went ahead and replaced both tires, using the only two they had in stock. And we were back on the road with two brand new tires by 6:20!
There are a lot of things that could have gone wrong. We could have had a terrible accident resulting from a blow out on the highway. We could have continued driving with a screw in the tire after filling it with air. We could have been stranded overnight waiting for the tire shop to open. But I'd like to think our guardian angel was watching over us, guided us to safety & help, let us know what the problem was, and allowed for a swift return to our journey. Thanks Gin!
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