As I have stated before, the need for repairs never seems to come at a good time. In some cases, it comes at a very inconvenient time. Like on the side of the highway at 10:30 on a Sunday night. Such was the case when my other tire decided to meet its maker. I try to never travel at night for this exact reason. But I only had 90 miles to go, the last CD of my current book, and probably a little too much caffeine at Starbucks. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I had tried four different places to get a new tire for the other side after my recent flat tire incident. They are apparently difficult to find and no one had one. So I knew the clock was ticking and made careful inspection of the tire at every opportunity. It seemed up for the trip. I headed out on the highway and popped in my book CD; I thoroughly enjoyed the final 15 minutes (I did think there was much more). 40 minutes in the middle of nowhere, my rig began to shake, rattle and roll. Then thump. I knew immediately this was not a good sign. I pulled over as far as I could, grabbed my flashlight and jumped out to take a look. As my sweet little Amanda began to list to the right, tire hissing, I knew I was in Trouble without many options. There was little to do but hunker down and hope to make it thru the night. With trucks flying by I crawled up in the overhead and tried to sleep.

I have said before that I lead a charmed life and even in circumstances like this I am amazed how the universe looks out for me. In this case help came with a knock on my window at 3:30am and a NC State Trooper who was every inch the stereotypical no-nonsense officer. His first statement after verifying that I was, in fact, broken down: “You can't stay here” (Really??) My first statement, “Where am I?” After providing me with my location as well as the name of a potential tire facility, he left with my promise that I would be out of here as soon as possible. To make a long story short, a call in the morning (8:01am) confirmed the tire company not only had a tire that fit my rig, they were only 15 minutes away. Another $330 and I was back on my way. Thank you to the Universe!

My day continued as I rolled into Wilmington, NC. Pulling up to a stop light, only a few miles from my destination I heard a thwap, thwap and knew right away that I had lost a belt. Peering down from the driver's window small strips of black confirmed my diagnosis. Again, the condensed version: an awesome good Samaritan and a talented mobile mechanic got me back on the road in a few hours. My thanks to all those who helped me out during this trying day! It's very true: We get by with a little help from our friends!

So that's 3 and I'm hoping I'm done with repair issues for a while!! But if I'm not, it's good to know the Universe (and friends) are on my side!