Sunday, October 09, 2005

'That's What Friends Are For', as Dionne Warwick Warbles

Steve giving me a hand -- er, foot
Thankfully Mercy Hospital is near our house, because I felt the rumble of a flat tire on the way home.

Gr-r-r-r....!

I have things to do today, like get cat food! Get my immigration photos re-done! My plans were thwarted by a wayward nail in the tire, and I'm guessing it happened overnight, deflating slowly when I was camped out in the hospital reclining chair. Thankfully it wasn't raining today.

I pulled over in a parking lot about 3/4 of the way home to check the tire, and it was completely flat. Called David to find out where I could get another tire on a Sunday, and he called around to see if one of his friends could help me out. I've changed tires on my own car, but with certain cars and certain jacks there's a variety of different ways to go about the job.

As Krisanne knows all too well, sometimes it's best to get some roadside assistance.

David's Civil Air Patrol friend and fellow pilot Steve showed up in short order, removed the flat, and put on the spare tire. Then he went way above and beyond the call of duty and offered to get the tire fixed. I'd planned to go to Wilkes-Barre tomorrow to take care of some things and stop by the place David usually buys his tires from, but Steve firmed up his offer and was on his way.

He showed up later in the afternoon at the house, took off the spare, and put on the repaired tire.

For he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny!

Steve wouldn't even let me pay for the repair -- we arranged a quid pro quo deal whereby I'd give him some computer-related advice.

You sure can't put a price on the value of friendship.