Wednesday, October 1, 2008

I have a stun-gun and I'm NOT afraid to use it....

So its was 7:30am this morning and I was driving home from the hospital when my car slowly starts driving weird and kinda shaking. I call Drew and tell him he's gonna have to get the car checked out today before we can drive it to Bama later this week. As soon as I get off the phone, I hear a noise near the front of the driver's side and it hits me, What if its my tire?? So I pull over onto the side of one of the many-busy-Dallas highways (and yes Grandma, I was way over- a safe distance from the 60 mph traffic:) I get out to discover... I was right, my tire had a huge gash in it and was COMPLETELY flat:(

So I call Drew to come help and he says he is about to drop Jake off at school and I knew I was still 20 minutes from home, so it would take a while. He tells me he's on his way, but to wait and see if anyone stops to help. "WHAT??!! I don't want help from some stranger! Thats how people get killed!" is my response. He calms me down, as usual, and I sit.... and wait. Minutes later an 18-wheeler pulls over in front of me, and..... well, I FREAK OUT! I don't know this person, he's probably a serial killer! My fear subsides (a little) as I realize, THIS could be my opportunity to FINALLY use my STUN-GUN!! Its situations like this that my dad equipped me with it.

So the man gets out his truck and asks if I have a spare. He's an older man who is friendly and seems like he really just wants to help me. So I take my hand off my stun-gun thats now in my scrub pocket. He gets the spare out of the trunk for me as a regular truck pulls over as well. Two men, probably about my age, get out and start helping the trucker. The trucker says he's going to let them take over and asks if its okay if he leaves. I say 'yes' and thank him repeatedly for stopping. He smiles, says 'no problem' and leaves in his truck. So now my attention is focused on these two men (who don't speak English, so I can't really talk to them) that just look up and smile now and then, while trying to get the original tire off. I'm standing in a large ditch on the other side of the car as I notice all the trash laying around. COME ON PEOPLE.... Don't mess with Texas, even my 5-year-old knows its not ok to "glitter".

So I go over to the other side of the car to monitor the progress and I see that the two guys are still having trouble getting one of the bolts off the original tire. I can't help but think how my dad would have already ripped that thing off with his bare hands! But I keep silent and smile back at them when they look up. (By the way, I could write a book about my dad fixing situations I got my poor car into from back in the day:) A few minutes later, they're almost finished when I am faced with my next dilemma.... do you pay people for changing your tire?? I mean, am I suppose to 'tip' them?? I decide 'no' as they finish up, hand me my jack and give me the thumbs up. Then one of them stands back and keeps looking at the tire. I can't decide if he is just admiring his hard work or trying to figure out if he did it right. He finally nods at me, So I thank them repeatedly and smile and wave as I get back onto the freeway. The funny thing is, as soon as I get back on my way, my first thought is... I'm SO gonna blog about this experience....... even though I didn't get to use my stun-gun.

I have now witnessed first hand that there are still good people out there that are willing to help a complete stranger and expect absolutely nothing in return. THANK YOU to the three men who went out of their way to help me out!! I also got to see the effects of littering.... "gross, people!! keep your trash to yourself." And I have yet to use my stun-gun people, so stay tuned and I will keep you posted:)

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Found yer blog from your roll call post on SITS's blog. I've had my fair share of car problems and have had my own heroes come to my rescue. It's sad there aren't more people like that in the world huh? I've had breakdowns where I've sat for 10 minutes in a broken down car while people honked and flipped me off before some nice person or people stopped to help me out.

That was really nice of them to stop and change your tire for you! Hopefully you can pass along the favor to the next person in need you run into...

Thanks for the great post.

Ronnica said...

Glad to hear that you were helped out! I always find truckers and police officers to be the most helpful in such situations...

Anonymous said...

It is always nice when nice people stumble upon and help. There are some crazies out there but it sounds like you got the few decent ones! That reminds me--I need to get a stun gun!

Nicole said...

That's a great story! Love it when good people are willing to help.

I actually had a flat once on the freeway, got out of the car (before cell phones) and started walking up the road to the next exit. I was 7 months pregnant, and 4 police cars PASSED ME BY! Horrible! If I'd had a stun-gun I totally would have thrown it at them as they passed :o)

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say thanks for coming on over to my blog. I would have been the same way!! with what ever I could get my hands on you never know with people these day's what will happen but it is nice to know there are people out there that are willing to help when someone is in need!

The Falco Family said...

MISTY!!!!! Your blog is so sweet!! I miss everyone at Methodist sooo much! How are things? I saw that your house is for sale!?!? I love to blog when I have time, Im glad I got to see yours....

Bradshaw's Buzz said...

WOW good thing it turned out to be a happy ending. Darn on not being able to "play" with the stun gun!