Bumped

It snowed last night, it snows still. We picked up boxes from D's work. On the way out of the parking ramp, I hit the snow covered curb. Hard. We drove around the corner, on icy rough surfaces, but as soon as we hit smooth, and it wasn't, we knew we had a problem. Blew out the right front tire. Limped to a tire shop two blocks away, took a bit of work to get the car up over the snow into the bay, help which they gave with some ineptitude. Difficult to move out of snow with a blown out front tire, but after the two guys (at much prompting) gave me a push, I got the car in place. I really do know how to drive in the stuff, but this was different, and I knew it. They had plenty of advice, when what I knew I needed was a shove. Still, can't tell anyone anything.

They had us over the proverbial barrel, tried to sell us into a longer relationship, which we declined. Guy asked us, filling out the invoice "Where are you living this week?" We both laughed. No kidding. It was not cheap, but we have all our tires on, aligned and checked. Missing our hubcap.

Given that in the time we walked back to the library to wait, then back, we saw several people driving badly, especially for the conditions, and one person tried to go through a red light, and honk at the car turning on the protected left, then stopped well into the intersection, it could have been worse. When these sort of things happen, I figure it's the first time offer, discount karmic payment, that if deferred will come back with a much higher cost.

Really, we learn this in kindergarten, Red means STOP, Green means GO. Our anesthesia head was hit last week by idiots going 65 MPH through a red light, hit the front quarter of his truck. He's more or less ok, but only worked a couple of days this work, obviously in pain. Nothing like a collision to shake one down to the cellular level. A hard bump with the curb, and a busted tire, easily if not cheaply fixed, and back home safe, then all is well.

Must pack, going to wait another hour or so, take a nap.