Flat Tire
Just a couple hours ago, I was driving home from Elgin after dropping my dog off at my brother's place for the week. I was really hungry and had a sudden craving for Panda Express (I know, I know). I had a faint memory that a Panda Express might be around Fullerton and Halsted, so I exited at Fullerton from the Kennedy. As I was driving under the viaduct at the Chicago Northwestern train tracks -- kaboom! I hit the mother of all potholes. Soon after, I realized I had a flat tire.
I pulled into the nearest parking lot, and I was relieved to discover that I had all the parts necessary to change the tire (but the jack was distressingly rusty). I got the jack to work after a little twisiting, but then I encountered a much more serious problem. The lug nuts were on so tight, I couldn't loosen them with my brute muscle alone. I was thinking that I was going to need to call a tow truck, when the security guard at the building I was parked in front of came out with a huge pipe. He said, "You need a little extra torque?" and then proceded into a tirade against the f***ing mechanics who put on lug nuts too tight. I asked him about the viaduct, and he said that cars used to pull into his lot all the time with flat tires, until the city patched the hole. Then he noted that it must be getting bad again.
The pipe was what I needed to change the tire. I went on my way, and I discovered that I was wrong -- there was no Panda Express at Fullerton and Halsted. So I'm cooking a frozen pizza right now.
The moral -- never give in to a Panda Express jones! And never underestimate the kindness of bored security guards.
I pulled into the nearest parking lot, and I was relieved to discover that I had all the parts necessary to change the tire (but the jack was distressingly rusty). I got the jack to work after a little twisiting, but then I encountered a much more serious problem. The lug nuts were on so tight, I couldn't loosen them with my brute muscle alone. I was thinking that I was going to need to call a tow truck, when the security guard at the building I was parked in front of came out with a huge pipe. He said, "You need a little extra torque?" and then proceded into a tirade against the f***ing mechanics who put on lug nuts too tight. I asked him about the viaduct, and he said that cars used to pull into his lot all the time with flat tires, until the city patched the hole. Then he noted that it must be getting bad again.
The pipe was what I needed to change the tire. I went on my way, and I discovered that I was wrong -- there was no Panda Express at Fullerton and Halsted. So I'm cooking a frozen pizza right now.
The moral -- never give in to a Panda Express jones! And never underestimate the kindness of bored security guards.
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