Where The Rubber Met The Road And Us

     Have you ever seen the movie "Rubber" about a tire named Robert that comes to life and rolls down the road killing people?

    I've never seen "Rubber," however on Friday afternoon Tom and I had had a run-in ― literally ― with a tire that could well have been the incarnation of Robert.
     We were driving from Columbus to Chicago for a family reunion. All our children were likewise traveling from their respective four corners to Chicago, where my daughter Claire and her husband Miguel live, for a visit, a family cookout,

...and to see the musical "Hamilton."

     This was to be one of the rare occasions when all our children, their spouses, and their children would be together, and we were all greatly anticipating this weekend.
      Around 1 pm Tom and I were driving west through Indiana on Interstate 70, about fifteen miles east of Indianapolis, enjoying the bright blue skies and the pastoral scenery of the Midwestern heartland,  

...when, from out of nowhere that we could perceive, bounced onto the road a larger-than-average tire, maybe the tire of a jeep or van.
     Moving at high speed, this tire first bounced into the car in front of us, taking out the car's  right front tire; then it bounced off that car and sped straight for us. 
     My initial thought, in the second or two I watched this tire speed-bouncing towards our car then lunging at us like  some live wild thing, was, This isn't happening.  But happening it was.
     At the moment of impact ― the tire bouncing beneath the front end rather than onto the hood, for which we'd later be thanking God ― our car was thrown several feet into the air; but, rather than flipping over as it apparently should have, our car landed flat on its four tires and, miraculously - and unlike the unfortunate car in front of us that was hit in the front tire -  we were able to drive away, shaken but unharmed.
     But not too far. We could smell what we thought was gasoline - turned out to be antifreeze - but in a second instance of good fortune following bad,  our tire-attack occurred about 1000 feet from the exit ramp to a  truck stop.

     As we pulled into the parking area another car pulled up next to us.  A Good Samaritan who'd witnessed the event had followed us, concerned that we might have been hurt.
      "You know your car flew four feet into the air?" he asked, recounting the exact details of what he'd seen.
      In truth at that moment I was drawing a blank on exactly what had happened.  Tom was breathing a little hard.  I think we were both in a little shock.
       But we now faced the task at hand of getting our car repaired and/or making our way to Chicago.  Our Good Samaritan told us there was an auto repair shop a few miles down the road and suggested that if a small leak in the antifreeze line were all we'd suffered we might be able to refill the antifreeze unit then make it to that shop.
        "You know you need to be thanking God and all His angels," he told us.  I assured him that we were and gave him a long hug. 

    As, along with being alive and unhurt,  were also lucky enough to have landed at a fully-equipped service plaza,

​...Tom was able to buy a gallon of antifreeze with which he attempted to fill the unit,

...but for naught.

     So Tom called AAA and spoke to a friendly and very sympathetic agent who also offered her gratitude that we were alive and well.  The agent apologized that it would be at least 90 minutes before a tow truck would arrive for us, but suggested that in the meantime he call Jenkins Auto Repair, in the nearby town of Greenfield.   ​

    Tom called Jenkins and was told by the owner - who, like his predecessors, marveled that we were still alive and  uninjured - that we could bring the car in but that no one could look at it until Monday.  He suggested that we leave our car with him and rent a car for the weekend from the Enterprise Rental down the block from his garage.
    And so that became our battle plan.
    Now that the necessary business was taken care of Tom and I had an hour or so to wait around at the truck stop store. grab some Subways,

...and reflect.
     After replaying the utter random bizarreness of the catastrophe we'd just escaped, the split second that could have caused the tire to bounce through the windshield instead of under the carriage, or could have flipped the car or just as likely have missed us altogether, we concluded  that suffering a mishap can leave one feeling more lucky to be unharmed than unlucky for what happened in the first place; and that even an ensuing set-back can seem like not much in view of how terrible the outcome could have been.

    I brought up what a bite in the elbow it would have been if I'd died the day after my book came out, but how on the other hand it might have been good for sales.

   Anyway, Tom and I both decided it was best not to to talk or think about the "What could have beens" and just carry on.
    We were eventually picked up by a nice AAA tow-truck driver,

...who reminded us how lucky we were to be alive,  and who towed us 15 miles to Jenkins Auto Repair in Greenfield, Indiana,

...then drove us several blocks to the Enterprise car rental.

     For being located in a small town this Enterprise was surprisingly busy. The manager, who also  expressed relief that we were alive and well, told us that it would likely be a couple of hours ―- around 6 pm ― before a car would be available for us.
    So we spent the hours strolling around the (mostly) pleasant  little town of Greenfield, Indiana.

     We came upon a Dairy Queen, where we entered,

​...and mused upon the fact that a Dairy Queen cone is an entity wonderful and unique unto itself.

    As promised, our rental  car was ready around 6 pm.

     And so we picked up from where we'd left off 4 hours earlier, not sure what the diagnosis would be come Monday for our poor traumatized car, or when or how we'd get back to Columbus, but determined to forget about all that for now and head for Chicago, which we reached around 10 pm, ready to enjoy our weekend and happy to be alive.

      To be continued...

 
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