My wife ran over a road hazard and got a flat tire while driving home the other evening. Like a good husband, I hopped in my truck to come to her rescue. While we could have called roadside assistance, it can take hours for them to reach you when you live in the country. I was only about 25 minutes away.
“At least it’s not raining,” she said.
“And it’s not six degrees,” I replied.
It helps to look at the positive side of things.
After I got underway and into an area with cell service, I stayed on the phone with her. She said two cars slowed down as she sat on the side of the road with her blinkers on but no one stopped. Apparently, one called 911 because , when I was about ten minutes out, a police officer pulled up. I felt better, and we hung up.
Changing a Tire
The officer was a young fellow, and far more helpful than I had expected. After it was clear he was going to stay with us while I changed the tire, I said to him, “I am carrying. I don’t want you to be concerned if you see the butt of my pistol when I lean over.”
“I’ll tell you what,” he replied. “You keep yours holstered, and I’ll keep mine holstered.”
“Sounds like a plan!” I said with a laugh.
In my wife’s car, the donut (spare tire) is stored in the back under the jack, which is under a panel that makes up the flat area under the hatchback. We lifted the panel and there were about ten boxes of assorted ammunition, a Glock magazine, an AR-15 magazine, and a fixed blade knife. There was also a sleeve of CR123 batteries, a compass, some fire starters, and a folded Esbit stove, although I doubt the officer—who was standing right next to me when I opened the rear—recognized that.
Oops. Talk about an OpSec violation.
“I like to be prepared,” I said. Unbeknownst to me at the time, when I got out of my truck, my wife said to the officer. “He came prepared; he’s wearing his headlamp.”
The officer didn’t have much of a response to my ammo stores, and it’s not illegal to drive around with a box of ammo for just about every common caliber. For all I know, he’s telling another cop the story about this older dude who drove around with a trunk full of ammo.
A Quick Fix
He helped me remove the tire while I got the jack. I carry a four-way tire iron or lug wrench in my truck, so I went back and grabbed that as well. In hindsight, I should have brought the truck’s jack because it is larger and easier to use. Both of us banged our knuckles on the ground and got a few scrapes getting the tire off.
Before long, we had the new tire on and the car was drivable again. I told my wife to keep it at 45 and drive to the tire shop, which was on our way home. She parked outside and I drove her the rest of the way home.
The next day, I got to the tire shop by 10 a.m. and they found the hole (it was obvious–this was not a slow leak), removed the tire rim, and patched it up. I was delighted it was fixable, so I agreed when they offered to rotate my tires. The patch and the tire rotation cost me $40. I considered it a bargain, considering a new tire would have been $200 or more.
Lessons Learned
This was the first time I had helped change a tire since my daughter got a flat eight or ten years ago. Here are a few takeaways:
- As we all know, cell phones are helpful in emergency situations.
- If you don’t know how or can’t change a tire, it’s good to know someone who can and will.
- You should always have a spare and onboard tools to change a tire.
- Headlamps are helpful when you need to work with your hands in the dark.
- When it comes to a flat tire, rural cops are more helpful than those in urban areas. And cooler about CCW, too.
- I may need to think of a better way to hide my ammo. The wasted space over the tire is convenient, but it’s also unavoidable when you need to change your tire.
- It pays to be ready to deploy on a moment’s notice.
Regarding that last point: when the call came in, all I had to do before I left the house was take a quick piss and put on my boots. All the necessary gear was already in my truck or in my pocket. I didn’t have to run around and collect tools or other equipment.
Be prepared. It’s worth it.
