TODAY’S BLOG IS DEDICATED TO MY BEAUTIFUL CHRISTINE WHO LIVED THIS STORY AND THEN GAVE ME THE IDEA FOR THE POST

I know you don’t always feel like you are viewing reality in your own way, but you are. I know you feel like your life circumstance is factual and thrust upon you, but it isn’t. Please read these two stories about the same event and see which story would be yours. 

  Tale I

We were on I95 coming back from a lovely weekend getaway when we felt the car shudder. We began to pull onto the shoulder when the wheel came off our jeep! It was only because we were smart enough to pull over that the jeep didn’t flip over, killing us and God knows how many others. The rogue tire alone would have wreaked havoc on the highway.

 We were freaking out. “How could this happen? Who were the incompetent assholes who installed the tire? Somebody is going to pay!” 

I tried to settle down a bit, but how could I with traffic whizzing by at 75mph? I called the cops, and they sent a tow truck, so I waited. And I waited. How long does it take to get freakin’ help here? I was fuming. I had a lovely weekend, and now it was wiped away. Goodbye calm, goodbye rest and relaxation, goodbye to recharging my batteries.  It’s all for naught now that I had a near-death experience.

 Finally, the tow arrived. The driver took us to some rinky-dink little repair shop in Podunk, population 4, including us, the mechanic, and his annoying puppy who barked incessantly in his crate! Seriously? Would you bring your puppy to work in an auto repair shop? Where the hell was I, Mayberry? I was waiting for Barney Fife to come in and take my statement. 

The mechanic, Leo, said he would have to send for the tire. (Leo is the same name as my son. I hope he doesn’t turn out like this loser!)

What a shock; he didn’t have the tire in his tiny, doggie daycare/tire shop. I wonder how long this will take. Maybe Aunt Bea would bring a crumb cake while we waited (although I wouldn’t eat it in this place. Everything was grimy and smelled like dog!)

 Finally, after waiting three hours in metal folding chairs with that constant barking, we got our tire and headed home. Lovely, now I am even more stressed out than when I needed this vacation! I am so suing that #!&*ing tire shop!

  Tale II

We were on I95 coming back from a lovely weekend getaway when we felt the car shudder. Thank God it warned us, and we pulled onto the shoulder. The wheel actually came off our jeep! Again, thankfully, we had slowed down, so the car just stopped instead of what might have happened at highway speed. We worried that the tire would cause another accident, but it just rolled into the guardrail and came to rest Whew!

 I called the police, and they instantly dispatched a tow truck. The tow driver arrived, and though we were a bit nervous, we were glad to see he wore a mask (like us) since we had to ride with him. 

He took us to a small repair shop. The mechanic on duty could not have been nicer. He introduced himself, and his name was Leo, the same as our youngest son! It was a good sign. Leo also had a puppy in the shop. The little guy was so excited to have company he was barking and yelping like crazy! We asked Leo to let him out of his kennel so we could play with him. He did, and what a joy that little guy was. We’d lost our dog not long ago, and the puppy was just the right medicine to soothe our nerves and make the wait time go by pleasantly. Leo called around to find the right tire and, luckily, located one not too far away. They delivered it in just a couple of hours. We were worried that we’d either have to spend the night here or have dad drive three hours to come and get us, but Leo got it done for us! We left feeling very grateful to have gotten off so lightly. Maybe it’s time for a new puppy?

 So what story would you tell? It is a choice. Be an author, not a jaded witness.

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