the flat...

the two flats...

i know that most of you out there who know my kids will find this hard to believe but one day last weekend my daughter found herself driving down the interstate without her cell phone in her possession. (i know...totally unbelievable but this is a true story).

she was around the carlisle exit of 81 south and all of the sudden her front tire BLEW...like totally instantly flat...luckily she was able to get off to the side of the road without incident...thank GOD for that.

so...here sits a 16 year old (female) all alone without a cell phone in a mini-van on the side of the highway...yep...you guessed it...she decided "i am not staying here".

apparently she was close enough to the exit that she could see it so she "slowly" drove on the berm of the road down the exit across the street into the parking lot of the tractor supply co. still alone and still with no phone...or so we thought.

soon...actually very soon...a nice young (somewhat attractive) gentleman offers his assistance and asks if she needs to borrow his phone. i can't say that i am positive that i am the FIRST call that she made but at some point she did call me and ask what she should do.

now...i am just coming off the night shift weekend and am slightly sleep deprived so when she called me on a boy named dale's cell phone who followed her to the tractor supply co...i was slightly confused. so as we were sorting all this out on the phone she proceeds to inform me that not only is the one tire blown but now her and dale are watching the second tire go flat.

did you all know that AAA will not deliver tires...only put on spares

did you all know that most people do NOT carry two spares

(although we soon came to find out that the front wheel was so bent that we couldn't replace the tire anyway...in fact i am quite certain that there is no name for the actual shape of the rim)

so i am up and off to the tractor supply co parking lot in carlisle to assess the damage and make sure she does not get too much assistance from the multitude of guys that keep staring at my slanted...very slanted mini-van.

to make a long story short we ended up having to have the van towed...and as long as i bring a check for $310 i can pick it up friday after work. when questioned about what we learned from this experience...it was a classic 16 year old response:

FIRST...the are lots of HOT guys that shop at the tractor supply co

SECOND...never travel without your cell phone

THIRD...it is best to not drive down the highway, off the ramp, across the street and into a parking lot on an already flat tire

yes...that was the order.

and you all wonder why i crave chocolate...

and if you happen to see my hubcap up on the highway...

thanks for checking in

tammy