SPARE ME!

    I hadn't heard the sound for many years.
But I heard it yesterday!
    The unmistakable rumble of a tire
surrendering its air and going flat as I
drove.
    It happened on a back road not far
from my house.
    I had no idea what caused the
problem. I only knew I'd have to deal
with it.
    I slowly rolled to a spot just off the
road. It was enough to keep me and my
vehicle out of the way of passing cars.
   Unfortunately it was not quite enough
to keep me clear of the sticker bushes
growing all too close to the flat!
   My first order of business was to
find out where my jack was hidden.
I found it in a hidden compartment
in the back of the van.
   As it happens, however, the back
section of our van was packed tight
with things we might need in an
emergency. Those things, as it
turned out, were blocking the first
thing I needed for this emergency!
    So, after clearing out the space,
I was able to get the jack out, dodge
the stickers, (well most of them) and
place it under the car. I loosened the
lug nuts with my trusty 4-way wrench
and removed the dead tire.
    Next I pulled out the spare and
began to lift it into place. It was
heavy and cumbersome. It did
not want to go into place!
    Fast forward some 45 minutes,
repositioning my aching body
on the cold ground, stickers
attacking at every opportunity,
and trying to lift the uncooperative
spare onto the wheel. I may have
said "Fudge" a few times along the
way. Or maybe it was "Darn!"
     Someone finally stopped to
help. He was the one who
confirmed my theory that my
spare was mounted on a
different sized wheel! There
was no way it would ever have
fit!
     At that point I sent for the
"Motor Club", my wife, who
transported my flat to Jack
Williams where we exchanged it
for a new tire.
     As I write we are waiting
for another new tire and wheel
to use as a spare.
     Hopefully I'll get all these
stickers out by the time it arrives
and that all your NEWS is good!