Curveballs along the way (back)

Looks like my good-luck-with-flat-tires karma (see previous post) has finally run out. On the way back from Shelby's fencing tournament in Tulsa, I got a flat tire on I-44 about ten minutes outside of OKC. Fortunately my GLwFTK had one last gasp, for as sucky as it was to have a flat tire, I couldn't have asked for a better scenario.

My ex-wife was a few minutes behind me on the turnpike. As soon as I pulled over I called her to let her know she'd be passing me on the side of the road momentarily. She pulled over and we transfered the kids from my vehicle to hers. Once I got the spare tire out and verified that I had all the right equipment, she got back on the road with the kids.

I got to work on changing the tire, and while I was doing that a highway patrolman pulled up. I walked over to his car to let him know I had it under control and he said okay and that he'd hang out to make sure no one ran me over, which he did. So I finished changing the tire and twenty-four minutes after first pulling over I was back on the road, though driving much slower.

So why was that fortunate? Because it could have been so much worse. Originally the girls and I were going to stay in Tulsa longer to visit with friends. Had we done that, it would have been late, dark, and cold on the way back (instead of very sunny, quite warm, and with plenty of daylight left) my ex-wife would not have been behind me to divert the kids' attention (had that happened in the middle of the night with the kids in the car, scared about what was going on, it would have taken MUCH longer to change that tire), and I suspect my odds of having a trooper there to watch my back in that scenario would have dropped.

But the good timing ended there. After I hobbled back to OKC, I pulled into a tire place and what do you know, I notice they close at five on Saturdays, which happened to be the exact time displayed on my cell phone as I stood there staring at the closed sign in disbelief. Why was I in disbelief? Because the poor timing was my own doing. Just after I got into OKC, I pulled into a convenience store to get a beverage. My last thirst quenching occured more than two hours prior at that point, back in Tulsa. I forgot to get a beverage before I hit the road, then I had to change the tire, so I was a bit parched. But of course, had I toughed it out a little longer and gone straight to the tire shop, I might have made it. Darn the dry-mouth and my own impatience.

I'm trying to refrain from excessive complaining, though, because as noted, it could have been much, much worse.