This is my week! Out of my way folks, this is going to be my week. Things are going my way. Well, one thing did at least. For a Monday, that’s pretty good. It’s no secret that I spend a lot of …
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This is my week!
Out of my way folks, this is going to be my week.
Things are going my way. Well, one thing did at least. For a Monday, that’s pretty good.
It’s no secret that I spend a lot of time on the road, and when you spend a lot of time on the road, you get stuck on the side of the road from time to time.
I changed a tire on the side of the interstate in a severe thunderstorm. I had to figure out how to change a tire in a new vehicle after running over metal in complete darkness outside of a scrap yard in northern Wisconsin. In my minivan, you had to take apart the center console, put together a tool and lower the tire. I called AAA. They said they were coming. I wait- ed about 45 minutes. They didn't come, so I went to work. I pulled out the owner's guide and figured this thing out. I got the spare lowered, and all but one lug nut loosened. The last one wouldn’t budge.
AAA still wasn’t there, as I put all my formidable weight into loosening this thing. Nothing. A knight in shining armor who had spent the afternoon at a tavern happened by. A half hour later, the tire was changed. It would have been quicker, but my assistant had to relieve himself on the side of the road a couple times.
In my younger days, I liked to challenge my gas gauge. I lost the game a few times. I recall having a mile hike on the side of Hwy. 29 to get to a station in 100-degree heat. That was an unlucky day. Even a sheriff’s deputy whizzed by me, as I hoofed it up the road with my thumb out. A young evan- gelist finally stopped, she told me, because "Jesus told her to.” I appreciated knowing someone was looking out for me. Jesus also must have known that she had no money and no gas either, so I had to fill her tank in swap for the ride. The Lord, as they say, works in mysterious ways.
Over the weekend, I noticed that my “fuel low” message was on, but I was just running back and forth from my office, less than a mile from home. I thought about filling up every time I pulled out of the driveway, but that thought fled my mind by the time I got to my destination.
This story sounds like it could be just another misadventure on the side of some interstate.
It isn’t. The ending is happy. This one broke my way, at the last second. That’s how I know this is my week.
I hit the jackpot. I started my van, noticed that alarm, and thought how lucky I was to have been driving almost four days on however much gas is left when the van lets you know that you’re on thin ice.
Then, I really hit the jackpot. I no more than pulled out of my driveway than the engine started to sputter before it died in an instant. I coasted to a stop right in front of my house.
Can you get luckier than that? I think not. So, look out world. This is going to be my week.
BY JOHN MCLOONE