Good News/Bad News

It was one of 'those' kind of days.... and I was determined to find Good News anywhere I found Bad News.

Bad News... I lost my sunglasses (real good 'biker' shades that fit over my prescription glasses and keep wind out of my eyes when I ride) last week.
Good News, Reba found them in the grass in my yard today. I must have dropped them when I got out of the truck with an armload of 'stuff'.

Good News... Tuggy & I have decided it's time to bring my trike home from his place. Because I'm not yet licensed to drive highway speeds I have to haul it home on my trailer.
Bad News... I can't find the license plate for my trailer (long story why it's not on trailer) so I spent a good part of today searching for it and never did find it. I searched in my truck and in my house.
Good News... my truck and kitchen are both cleaner than they were before.

Later in the afternoon I decided to go to Tuggy's anyway, at least I could help him set up the brakes one my trike now that he got the one adjuster working right.
Bad News... I had a flat tire on the way there.
Good News.... it went flat but didn't blow out suddenly (being a front tire this could have been really bad).
Bad News... I couldn't get the lug nuts undone, even though I was jumping on the tire iron.
Good News... a guy was sitting in his truck not far away, waiting for the school bus to bring his kid home, saw me jumping on the tire iron and came to help change my flat. This was especially good since once my lug nuts were broken loose we discovered that my jack wouldn't fit under the front end, so he got out his jack which worked wonderfully.
Bad News... the spare tire that came with the truck, that I have been hauling around for years, didn't fit. Oh, it would have if I had a flat on the back, but not on the front because my truck is a 4x4 and the hubs on the front wheels wouldn't fit through the too small holes in the center of the wheel.
Good News... I had my cell to call for help with this problem and the man was good enough to tell me where he lives so I could return the jack once finished with it as he had to go.
Bad News... Tuggy couldn't come help me as he doesn't have a car on the road, just his trike. Dan wasn't answering his cell which is really no big surprise as he usually turns the darn thing off. Wendy doesn't know where I live as I always go in to her place or other places in town.
Good News... I though about the guy that lives below me and called him... he was home. As we talked on our cells he walked up the hill and I told him "to the right of the travel trailer there is a lean-to and a white shed. Inside the white shed are 4 tires on rims, the summers off my truck." A couple minutes later he tells me he found some tires but they're flat. After my initial fear I realize what tires he's talking about, they are underneath the travel trailer. I repeat the instructions to go inside the white shed. "White shed? What white shed?" I explain again where the white shed is and that he is to go inside it. A couple minutes pass and he tells me there are no tires in there... oh, well there is one with only 4 holes in the rim and it's small. "Are you INSIDE THE WHITE SHED?" I ask. "No." I think he must have been inside the lean-to which is not white at all. "The white shed! GO INSIDE THE WHITE SHED!" By now I've repeated "White Shed" at least a half dozen times and am getting frustrated!!!
Good News... he finally found the white shed and managed to open the door and look inside. Voila!!!! There is the big stack of tires that even he can't miss. With talking him through the difference between the ones for the front and for the back he did manage to bring me the right wheel... and it only took him an hour to get there. It had only taken me less than 5 minutes to drive that far.
Good News... after thinking I'd not be surprised if he showed up with the wrong wheel I was delighted when he brought the right one... it went on easily and I was, as Willy Nelson says "On The Road Again".

First, before anything else, I went to return the borrowed jack. He had said he lived up the road that went off to the left from the highway, 1 kilometer and his place is on the right, just leave the jack on the porch and not to worry about the dogs as they won't hurt me. Good. So I check my odometer and drive exactly one kilometer up the road and... Good News... right there is a small road off to the left. I drove down it... Bad News...and drove and drove and by the time I had driven 1 k. in I still saw no house and the road was not getting any better. I decided to turn around though there was not exactly anywhere to do that, just inch forward then back the forward then back until I got around. While doing this, with all the rain we've had (& I'd just sat through 2 big rain storms while waiting for my wheel) and being a dirt road, I got stuck in the mud. Good News... it's a 4x4, remember!! I got out and locked my hubs in, put it in 4wd and got unstuck easily. Once turned around I drove back out that 1 k., turned left and continued up the road where, nearly another k. later, I found a house on the left side, complete with 2 dogs that let me put the jack on the porch.

I drove home and had tea and a slice of bread with peanut butter and jam. It was nice to walk into an almost clean kitchen.


I am grateful that my tire didn't blow out and cause me to crash my truck.
I am grateful to the man that helped me with the tire as much as he could.
I am grateful that man let me keep his jack, trusting me to return it once finished the job.
I am grateful to Len for bringing me the tire/wheel I needed from home.
I am grateful I had a second set of wheels at home.
I am grateful I had my cell phone with me.
I am grateful I was inside my truck during the rain storms, a lot of water came down!
I am grateful all turned out well in the end.
I am grateful for peanut butter and jam sandwiches.