The Daily Hailey

My post is up late today because, after talking with my husband, Brady, on the phone this morning, I knew it was necessary for him to write a guest post today. Either that or he make his own blog and have a much bigger following than me on his first day. So here he is! Read on, and be thankful you weren’t him today!

So last night I noticed that one of the tires on my work van was flat and I’d have to pump it up this morning before I went work. So I took a little extra time this morning to go to the Red Bull to pump it up, however, as I was there I could hear it leaking and felt around a little bit and noticed that it was worn right down to almost nothing in just one spot. So I knew I would have to get to a tire shop today to buy a new tire and have it put on, but I know place that’s open a bit later and I’d have lots of time after work. So I got on the highway.

Nothing out of the ordinary as I drove most of the way into the city but just as I was nearing the Dalmeny turnoff I passed a hitch hiker. Now I have never picked up hitch hikers and never really planned to but I also don’t want to kill anyone so I moved to the fast lane so as to give him lots of room as I passed. But even as I made it clear that I was not about to stop he jumped up and down and waved his arms as big as he could right up until I passed him. I moved back to the slow lane and kept on my merry way. And it was just 30ish seconds after I passed him that I heard the menacing hum of my rear tire disintegrating. And then it blew.

Luckily I was hauling all of my tools this morning so when the tire blew I had enough weight that my van stayed driving straight and I was able to pull over to the shoulder and get stopped without any trouble.

But the race was on.

Now I had to get my tire changed before that blasted hitch hiker caught up to me and inevitably asked for a ride. So I was movin. And I managed to get all the way to the point of getting out my little donut of a spare tire before I heard “Hey Man, if I help you change your tire can I have a ride to Saskatoon?” And in that moment I knew that I couldn’t tell him NO and feel good about it. From a quick assessment I saw he had a fat lip, some bits of dried blood on various parts of his face, what could have been a broken nose (although it may have been broken before and never reset), and a broken and bleeding hand. He was busted up and vulnerable and not super threatening. Plus I’m pretty sure I could’ve taken him in that moment. 😉 so I said yes.

We got the donut put on and lug nuts tightened however as I started to lower the jack I had a sinking feeling that the donut wasn’t gonna have enough air pressure in it to hold the weight of my van. And I was right. By the time I got the jack out, the donut was almost completely flat. And my compressor had no air pressure in it. So off we puttered in search of some electricity. The nearest farm yard was about a kilometre away and down a gravel road a little ways so I just went slow and hoped someone would be awake. But when I got out to go knock on the door I looked at the donut and saw that it had gone completely flat and separated from the rim. No hope of pumping it up with my compressor so I got right back in my van and we limped back to the highway.

It was then that I knew I would need outside help, and the only person I knew to call was Hailey’s Mom. She has CAA. I’ve been told that my call didn’t wake her but I still have my suspicions. She came as quick as she could. Jeanne to the rescue! And all the while I have this hitch hiker in my van, who by now I’ve learned is named Nigel. He has two kids. And was in a bar fight last night. I’m pretty sure he spent the night sleeping in someone’s backyard and must have been walking since about 5am because he had walked most of the way from Radisson to Saskatoon by the time I passed him at 730.

As soon as Mom showed up she got on the phone to CAA and asked that a tow truck be sent to bring my van to the tire shop I was thinking of earlier. I went back to my van to ask if Nigel wanted to come wait with us instead of alone in my work van and he accepted but after only a few minutes in the car with us he asked if he could go sleep in my van while we waited. I knew my van wasn’t about to be stolen so I gave him the keys to keep it running so he could be warm.

Then Mom had a better idea. Instead of waiting for a tow truck, we could just put my shredded tire in her trunk and drive to the tire shop ourselves. So she cancelled to tow truck and I gathered Nigel and what was left of my tire and we got back on the highway to Saskatoon.

Nigel said he lived on Idylwyld and asked to be dropped at a 7-11 so we readily and happily obliged. And with that we wished each other good luck and went our separate ways. No death threats, no drugs. The only thing he asked for besides a ride was a smoke. I don’t smoke. Poor guy.

Good luck Nigel!

From there Mom and I had a really wonderful time together. We drove the rest of way to the tire shop and I bought a cheap used tire to drive on til I can buy a whole new set. We then picked up coffee before we drove back out to my van. Mom very kindly waited til I got the new tire put on and the van was back on the ground before we hugged goodbye. Thanks again for all your help Mom!

And then I went to work.

*****

My husband is home alive, with a work vehicle than at least runs better than it handles on the highway, and with a killer story to tell. Hopefully you enjoyed mixing it up!!