Earl Grey is a 1997 model with a rather "roan" metallic coat color.
On a "ride" yesterday afternoon the owner noticed a distinct "Off-ness" in the right hind.
She pulled onto the side of the road....errrr....trail......and evaluated.
Poor Earl wasn't going ANYWHERE. 3 legged lame.
Diagnosis? (sorry - you don't get to guess - check back next week for the case of Geraldine and a chance to win a fabulously cheap prize!) Nail in the hoof (tire).
Earl is my car. He didn't have a name before yesterday, but since I needed a CC yesterday and he managed to obliterate my afternoon plans, including writing a CC post, he has been christened "Earl Grey", being a rather puke grayish/purple color, reminiscent of the color put on tea packets of the same name.
A nail can disable a horse just as quickly as a car.
Things on my "to be done list" yesterday
1. Ride my horse or at least lunge her
2. Go for a run with Tess.
3. Watch required surgery videos for tomorrows lab
4. Review material on wound healing that I missed yesterday.
Things NOT on my "to be done" list
1. Flat tire in a vehicle without a full sized spare.
For Xmas I got a aaa membership and although I'm careful about maintenance and tires, I figured with my commute it as just a matter of time until something happened. This year is the first time I've ever had roadside assistance! I decided that the nice tow truck driver could put my donut tire on since it's in dubious condition (car had a flat before I owned it and the donut is used) and I didn't want to mess with it (good thing because when the driver put the donut on, it was flat and had to be aired up). It was already after hours so why should I do it myself and risk getting fingers smashed before my first surgery lab tomorrow?
And its not like I could have driven home anyways-the donut is only good for 55 miles and home is further away from school than that (and who knows how many miles is already on it) AND theres nothing between school and home so best case scenario leaves me stranded somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the dark. If ive learned nothing else by getting old (in horse years...) its that saving a dime to spend a dollar is STUPID.
So the car stayed in Davis last night at a friends house, I had Matt pick me up from Davis, and I drove the truck to school this morning. And I didn't risk life and limb by entering some "supernatural" type tv episode by driving my car home.....
At some point between learning how to tie suture notes and scrubbing and gowning today, I'll get the tire repaired.
In the spirit of when these types of things happen....of COURSE it was on an incredibly long school day (8a-5p), on a day I had resolved to at least give my horse some exercise (after her having a week off), while having a headache (after a two hour radiology discussion interpreting radiographs I'm convinced that I am the stupidest person alive and feel like I've been trying to drive in the fog in heavy traffic for two hours...), and of course, since it was 6:20p I was starving. Time to bring out the almonds and dates I keep in the car for emergencies.
Btw - just because we are the subject of things happening and the recent post of being prepared.....I also had 2 gallons of water in my trunk. Obviously not a huge concern yesterday, since it was a cool day and I was in the middle of town. But I'm just throwing it out there.....
Driving my truck to school this morning I was reminded just how FUN a truck is. Lots of power, totally zippy when a trailer isn't behind you, you can see for miles and miles (my truck rides high), a LOT less road noise (I guess that's what happens when your truck is 10 years newer than the car...). Too bad it costs a FORTUNE to commute in it. *sigh*.
Posted with Blogsy
Potholes and curbs are minor inconveniences, too. I love my truck (when I'm not on Mission or trying to park it, parallel or straight).
ReplyDeleteA flat donut sounds just awful! Glad you had the triple A - and that you didn't get splattered by a vengeful spirit! ;)
FWIW, I have put mumblety miles on a donut going mumblety miles per hour more than you're supposed to with nary a problem. Anecdote is not evidence, but if you end up in the situation again...they're okay for more than The Official Word would have you think.
ReplyDeleteI would have took the risk of going the extra mileage on it except there's absolutely nothing on that stretch of road between school and getting home and being wrong meand being stranded for at least a couple hours and having to pay to get it towed, or leaving it on the side of the road overnight. not worth the risk.
ReplyDeleteOne other nice thing about a truck is that they have a full size spare. Takes the pressure off. Just change and go.
ReplyDeleteBTW: Lunged(sp) Bica for the first time the other night. Went better than I expected, but still needs some work; me mainly. I don't think I am giving the proper cues for the inside turn.
Pa
really like the full size on my truck, makes a flat tire inconvenience instead of a problem. regarding bica, sometimes it's easier to teach a horse the inside turn on a lunge line instead of a round pen, I find in older horses they are as likely to blow through your body language even uf its correct if they have been doing it wrong for a number of years and I find it faster to use a line
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