this, this story ...

   If you get a call at 11:30 PM on a Friday night that your 

dear, darling daughter has blown out a tire ... 

what do you do first?

Drive over to her.  Open your glove compartment.

Open the instruction manual.

Then drive home and claim that it's just too late to deal with it.

You can call AAA, if you have it.  Which I don't.  Which I will get.  If you are too cheap to buy AAA services, you can always use your GEICO 'roadside service' ... but DO NOT count on them to care.

At all.

Nada.

Nope.

I wasn't the one driving, obviously, but I tried to make them think I was.  They not only saw through my little ploy but they also didn't care.  Apparently IIIIIII am not covered.  Only my car is.

??

Yep, even IF I'd been the one driving Elizabeth's car, I wasn't covered.

Goodbye GEICO, Hello AAA.

So home we went.  And up we got the next morning and back we came to Liz' car ... to ATTEMPT to change the tire ourselves.

I was determined.

And you know what?  I DID IT!

First up?  Haul the spare out of the trunk.

Nice little tire.

Nice little car.

Next ... Pull your laundry out of the trunk, too, you know ... in case you want to show off your pretty pop-up hamper to everyone.

Then ... point to the tire, point to those big lug nut thingies.

Tighten or loosen a couple of other thingies.

Get onto your knees, cuz you can see real good that way.  Lean way over but try not to fall.  That wouldn't look so good.

Twist a few more things and the stare at the ground a bit.

Back on your knees to tighten a few things ...

Again, don't fall over.

Call your wife over to admire your handiwork ...

Point at your beautiful tire again, and show it all to anyone who'll look.

Wanna see what we looked like from MY car?

I was peeking at all of the activity through my back window.  Pretty tricky how I can peek through my window and see myself on the ground changing a tire.

No really.

And, all of sudden, Liz was no longer flat-tired.  I had fixed her up real good.

*

It also helped that she had her blow out ...

RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THE BOY SCOUT'S HEADQUARTERS!!

I was able to teach them a thing or two...

.