The Wheel of the Beautiful and Terrible

Friday night was progressing beautifully, kind of. I went to a middle school dance plus 40 years at Tellus 360 for WXPN's Funky Friday. Let me tell you, getting old ain't pretty. Middle-Agers dancing to disco to protest the dying of the light. Smoldering wicks. A last spasm of youth.

A buddy of mine wanted to bop for his birthday so I showed up for a cameo and then got the heck out before breaking out in hives.

Walking back to my car, I got drenched in a downpour of unexpected rain. Skirting the sides of buildings to avoid the shower, I arrived as a sojourner to Square One Coffee to buy a $27 bag of Kenyan Coffee. I looked like a sunken rat. I made the rest of the way to my car--I don't park and pay at Garages--I beat myself up for not being prepared for the howling rains. My fleece fortunately kept me warm even though wet. The coffee, by the way, is astoundingly delicious. Makes me even more excited to head to Kenya in June. 

I made my way in the Civic up to my buddy's house. He and his family kind of have adopted me as a stray. They feed me. After hanging out for a couple of hours, I decided it was time to head West to the domicile. Outside of his house, the rains were still pelting. No big deal. On a road not too far from his place, in a blinding tsunami from the sky, I hit a ginormous pothole. It was rather jarring. Since it was raining so vehemently, I kept driving. I was in denial. I should have gone out to see how the tire looked. But, the car was driving fine despite the rising waters.

Route 30 was a bit nuts. Yet, I was OK. As I approached my exit, my poor Honda started to shake. It was unnerving. I was breaking up like the 6 Million Dollar Man (Google the reference children)

I exited and pulled into the local Turkey Hill parking lot to see this:

This was actually the morning after (yesterday). I had decided to not deal with the whole mess until Saturday morning since it was late and so awful outside. There wasn't a lot I could do at 11:00 at night. I figured with the light of day, I could reason it out a bit clearer. I told the convenience store clerks that I would be back in the morning to address it and had a lovely 1.5 mile walk back to the house. If I had some soap, I could have taken a shower. It was actually more a light rain at that point but there were enormous pools of water on the road. Tip: Always walk with your face to the traffic.

I got back to the Haus, stripped off my soaking clothes, and laid down my head for an unsettled sleep, dreading the day upcoming but also thankful that I and others were safe. It could have been a lot worse. Yesterday morn, it was lovely. Evidence of the night before was everywhere, leaves covering the ground, broken branches of trees strewn about, etc. I walked back to the Turkey Hill to begin the process of getting the car back on the road.

Triple A came out with the tow truck. Because the right front tire was macerated, he couldn't tow me. It would take a flatbed. We contemplated options. The tow truck driver looked over the damage. Despite the busted tire, scratched rim, and a busted shock, everything else appeared OK. No cracked axle, no leaking fluids like from a wound. We decided to put the donut on and him to track me down to local AAA discounted mechanic shop with great ratings on Google and then make a decision if I needed to leave it there or if I could drive it. At the shop, not open until Monday, the car appeared OK. 

So, I decided to take my chances and head to Costco to get a new tire under the warranty. Turns out since I had to run on the rim for about 300 yards, it got scuffed up enough that I have to get it sanded down to create the seal required for the new tire. Long story short, that kind of work is rather rare at tire shops but a rep at NTB recommended a dude, Mr. Wheels, in Elizabethtown. As it turns out, Costco had to order the tire and the earliest it will arrive is Monday afternoon. So, until then I am Mr. Donut.  That is the driving equivalent of a dog with a lampshade around its neck.

When I was at Costco, I ordered a large Combo Pizza to go while in line at the Tire Center. 15 minutes later, I had this hot and luscious baby in front of me:

I was thinking a thief could sneak out a 40 inch flat screen TV underneath this bad boy. Since I am a bit of a stress eater, I scarfed down two slices at the food cart. As a was inhaling the slices like fresh mountain air, I gazed upon the maddening Costco crowds. I also thought to myself, "Why would anyone shop at Costco on a Saturday?" I mean it was packed. I think families go there for fun and snack samples on the cheap. There were all types of people in the swarming shopping hive. Amish families (yes, they are Costco devotees with their own parking spots for horses and buggies) and they buy big, Latinos, turban-wearing Sikhs, Asian-Americans (most likely Vietnamese, since we have a sizable resettled population), Hindus/Indians, a black dude wearing an Eagles shirt, and tons of Soccer Moms with kids and dads in tow, and those lonely elderly folks who sit at food courts and stare into space.

Me, I was mostly staring at my pizza....

It was all rather comical. Life just barreling along. People shopping their asses off, the great slice of American Life, unified by the sacrament of consumption. At least Costco has soul unlike OrcMart, the destroyer of worlds. Costco generally does all things well, that is their brand. Pizza is apparently the most popular food worldwide...it has it all. Meat, Wheat, Dairy, and Vegetables. I must say, this Costco pizza rocked. All for under ten bucks. I surmised that during the tire travail, I really didn't want to cook anything. Instead I will ride this pizza wheel for a couple of days until it all takes its course.  The Wheel of the Beautiful and the Terrible just rolls on...