Some Days are Just Like That

Thursdays are fiddle lessons for The Boy.We drive in towards the Big City for this.We try to do everything we would possibly have to do in The Big City on this day as not to waste gas and time and, most importantly, my nerves.Because leaving my little oasis in the woods to go to any Big City is like a cheese grater across my brain! The Boy is my only baby and if my only baby wants to play fiddle,then by gosh,Momma is going to make it happen even if I have to go to civilization!
So, today The Boy wants to take Hubby's truck instead of mine because it has some kind of souped up radio,it came with the truck,and he can hook up his little music thingy to and we can drive around looking redneck but sounding ghetto.I say why not.So we are redneck -ghetto thumpin' our way down the interstate at about 75 mph and I feel a vibration.At first I thought it was the road,then I thought blow out,then Wham!Ca-thunk,ca-thunk-ca-thunk...all in about 4 seconds!I was able to get over to the side of the interstate and get out to look,no blow out.I drove across the shoulder to the service road, ca-thunk ca-thunk ca-thunk,because let's face it the side of the interstate going in to a major U.S. city is a death trap! We get out and look some more,hmm...nothing.The movie theater is about a 100 yards away so I decide to limp in there.We get out again and notice the back tire is going flat,there is a huge piece of metal in it.

So I call our road side assistance and they say some one will be there in 30 minute to change the flat.I have been driving long enough to know a slow leaking tire is not going to cause the ca-thunking.
So the tow truck driver gets there to change the flat and I am still looking.He can't get the spare off because it was apparently air tooled on.About that time I notice something hanging down,not connected to anything.This is exactly what I suspected, a dangling thingy somewhere that was obviously broken! I tell him don't worry about the flat because I probably need a tow and can he look and tell me what this thingy is that is broken.Yes,I am that mechanically savvy,everything on the truck is a thingy!So this nice young man schooches under the truck and says that it is what is left of my 4x4 drive shaft,it shattered.

He has to go and get his flat bed tow truck to tow ours, so we wait.While we are waiting The Boy starts telling me all the horror stories that could have happened,we could have flipped or a piece of metal..

could have gone through the gas tank, etc etc.I am glad no one was behind us to get hit by flying metal after seeing the huge hunk in the tire.Did I ever mention we always say a prayer before we set out to The Big City?


The sad part is the whole time we sat there,a woman and boy on the side of the road not one person stopped to see if we needed help.We were out of the truck most of the time so it was evident we didn't have any man help.Half a million people drove by in the couple of hours we were there.We didn't need help,but that is not the point,we could have had we been less fortunate and not had road side assistance or the money for a tow truck or a cell phone for that matter.I leave my phone at home all the time.What is wrong with people in the Big Cities?Every small town I have ever broken down in or had a flat some one has stopped almost right away and helped me.Once The Boy is grown I think I will complete my hermit transformation and stay in the woods in my uni-bomber shack!