Ain't This The Breaks

On Friday as I was traveling north on I-85 just north of the Hogansville Exit there was a man standing besides his car waving his arms frantically.  So I pulled over to see if it was because someone was hurt or sick.  Well, it was a taxi out of Columbus and he had a left rear flat.  He was also passenger loaded headed towards Jackson Hartsfield Airport. Well the driver came running up to me and told me that he needed a lug wrench to get the lugs off.  He didn't have one.  The lug wrench I had was for the truck and I knew I only had a 1 in 4 chance that it would be the same size for his cab.

Luck wasn't with that cabbie.   My wrench was too big.

He was on the phone gripping with his dispatcher and said there was someone coming out of Columbus with the tool.  I had compassion on them and told him that I only lived a few miles up the road and that I'll go and grab some tools but keep whoever he had coming to keep on coming in case they were able to get to him before I got back.

I went home and grabbed the tool box and then I returned.  It was only about a twenty minute turn around.  The cabbie was glad to see me when I got back and offered me some money for my troubles and I just told him to help out someone else if they're in need. 

We got the lugs off and raised the cab, pulled the flat tire off, (it threw it's cap), and went to put the donut spare on.  The holes for the lugs weren't lining up.  I looked and the tires on the cab were 16" and this donut was only a 15".

Arrrgh.

The Cabbie was back on his phone and was trying to be as polite as he could with his dispatcher in telling them the screwed up situation while I just packed up my tools and left.

Nothing else I could do.

But that was horrible that you work for some transportation company and the fleet manager doesn't make sure you have all the implements of destruction to see you safely down the road.

If it had been me I wouldn't have killed that fleet manager but I would have hurt him a bit.