This Actually Happened – June 29th, 2012

I decided to post this week’s This Actually Happened, today and I will post the new episode of Bagging Up, tomorrow.

Luck Of The Non-Irish

A few weeks ago, I was driving on the highway (Speeding as usual!) and something unfortunate occurred. My passenger side front tire exploded while I was switching lanes. Thankfully, I used my superior driving abilities to enter the breakdown lane and bring the car to a safe stop; a less skilled person may have died tragically in such a situation. (Ironically, the tire blew-out on the section of the Glendale Freeway which is adopted by Atheists United!) I carefully stepped out of the vehicle as motorists sped by, and I walked around the car in order to assess the damage. (I was too focused on my tire, to notice, but I’m pretty sure many of the drivers were elated to see my troubles since I drove by each of them at very high speeds!) ***This is one of those situations that will cause people to attempt and apply karma, but that’s just dumb!*** I knew I had a flat tire, but I didn’t expect to see a complete blowout. The tire looked like it was Emilio Rebenga’s stomach after being carved up real nice by Antonio Montana at the beginning of director Brian De Palma’s cult classic, SCARFACE! I think I shed a tear, but it evaporated before rolling down my cheek due to the California sun, which was all up in my face! (The car will never be the same! I MISS YOU RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE!) There was nothing I could do other than pop the trunk and grab the spare. Suddenly, a truck pulled up behind my car and parked. Amazingly, the driver worked for the California Public Works Department and he was there to help. (Looks like I was able to acquire a little luck from Boston’s Irish!) The tire change took less than ten minutes, since he had a professional car jack. The best part was the fact that I only had to do twenty percent of the work. (Twenty percent is the actual amount of work performed by me; I did not estimate!) Unfortunately, I made the mistake of driving by a Goodyear tire shop and my luck ran out when I ended up paying a hundred and twenty dollars for a replacement tire. (Next time, I’ll stop being lazy and drive to the hood to get a used replacement for about twenty bucks!) I may not believe in a higher power, but I definitely believe in the luck of the Irish! BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

The men pictured above did not have anything to do with my tire change!

@PeteTeix617