It Was Worth a Shot

Still hanging on...my latest fiasco has been with my car. I have a 1995 BMW 325 convertible we bought with the insurance settlement we got when Zach totalled out my 2002 Passat. It's a rattle trap, all four shocks are gone, the radio hasn't worked since Tim put a new battery in and since we don't have an owner's manual, BMW wanted $175.00 to tell me the code to reset it. I decided to just sing while I drive. My back two tires were showing steel belts and  when I bought two new tires from my buddy at  the tire place he found a bad bearing in one of my back wheels. With no money to fix it he suggested putting the new tires on the front since the bad bearing was what was making the tire wear and shoving the two still good tires to the back. He didn't use the word "Shove" but that's the way I thought about it.

It's what I always do...shove something over or rearrange. Duct  tape is another thing I always use to fix things. Paper clips also come in handy and I love me some twist ties and Gorilla glue.

He put the new tires on the front and the semi good tires on the back and I was good to go! He told me I needed to get the bearing fixed because it would wear my back tire quicker and eventually the wheel would fall off.  Eventually to me, is a LONG way off and considering it would cost several hundred dollars to fix I told him I would save up the money  and come back to see him. He also told me it sounded like the rear end was about to go and I'd be looking at  a couple of grand when THAT happened and my best bet was get rid of  the car. I told him I really didn't have that option but it was nice to be informed.

It's taken six months but the bad bearing finally wormed his wicked way to my back tire that USED to be semi good. My  son noticed last week that I had steel belt showing again on the bad wheel.

Dang...what to do when you can't fix it with duct  tape or Gorilla glue?

Ding Ding Ding!!  (That means I had a brilliant idea)  I told Zach yesterday  to check the spare I have never even looked at in my trunk and see  what  the tread looked like. He said it looked fine so I said "Well slap that bee-otch on the bum wheel and let's get another reprieve!"

He and his friend changed the tire and the spare looked a little low so they drove it next  door  to my next door husband's house (who doesn't have Gorilla glue or paper clips but every actual tool you could ever need) and they pumped up the tire with his compressor.

As usual I woke up for my day shift with zero minutes to spare. Four minutes for a shower, three minutes for make up, two minutes to give the dogs food and water out back and out  the door I went!

There sat my little Beemer...with a flat tire. It used to be called my spare tire but now it was called a headache.

I called work and the owner answered. I told him I had a flat and he said "That's why you have a spare...start changing it." I told him it WAS my spare that was flat but I'd get there.

I called a taxi and the guy said he had two people in front of me and it would be forty five minutes. For Pete's sake...what's he got, one cab?

I  called my sister who was luckily at  home and came to my rescue within fifteen minutes. We pulled into the parking lot at work and  the cab I had tried to  call strolled across in front of us. Whatever!

The night before another server had called to say his mother had been admitted to the hospital and asked if I would work the night shift for him after my day shift. Number one I have GOT to quit answering my cell phone on my day off,  number two I caved and said I would...not knowing I would wake up to a flat tire.

After my sister dumped me off at work (only fifteen minutes late) I plotted my next  strategic move. I called another server who was sick and off til Friday and asked if I could borrow her car? She said sure and I thought about calling back the "One Car" Taxi service when yet  another server came into the restaurant to have lunch. I asked her if she could drop me off to pick up my friend's car when she left and she agreed.

I picked up my friend's car and headed to the high school to pick up Massey (who's car was in the shop) and took her to pick up her car. I made it back to work with five minutes to spare. (Spare being a good thing this time)

I woke up  this morning and decided to just take the bald tire to a used tire dealership and buy a used one. The first place I stopped, which SHOULD be named "Casa de Viejo Tires" was no help at  all. All the amigos were busy putting thousand dollar rims on used tires on pimped out 1996 Chevrolet's and Cadillacs and were no help at  all. Fat boy behind the desk told me to try somewhere else and when I asked where he replied "A mile or two down the road."

I went to the place my Bro & Law had mentioned and walked out twenty minutes later with a brand new USED tire mounted and balanced for $49.00.

At least I am on the road again! I tried a quick fix which quickly turned into a disaster, but at least I tried!

When I took Massey to pick up her car yesterday, the guy who sold it to us ( fixed her problems and replaced her two front tires for free) told me he would take my car on a trade for a 2000 Audi he had put a new engine in and let me make payments. I am tempted.

I love my little Beemer but I just can't afford fixing all his ailments. This guy can fix and sell him whereas I can barely afford the gas for him much less shocks, bearings and a new rear end.

I think this may be the way to go. If it were the beginning of summer I would balk. I never put my top up between May and late September. I loved having a convertible. I'm just gonna think I had a good two year run with my little buddy but it's time to turn him out to pasture.

I guarantee you when we get back up to snuff  I'll get me another little convertible Beemer. But winter is coming, we ain't getting richer as fast as I hoped and with cold weather coming it may be a good thing to have a hard top over my head again. Maybe the car even has a radio that works!


Take the good with the bad. When you hit the bottom there is nowhere to go but up, unless life sends you six feet under and so far I have manged to stay on this side of the dirt.

Life is like a roller coaster in the dark. You don't know when it's gonna turn or go down or up. You never know what is around the bend...just make sure you are buckled in and  make it to the end of the ride.

"Watch your knees and exit to  your left."

Til next  time...COTTON