The sun was low in the clear cold sky
\nin late November when I pulled off
\nthe busy four lane highway
\nwith a flat: rear, driver’s side<\/p>\n
There was almost no shoulder
\nrush hour was just starting
\nI had to find the jack location
\nunder the rockerpanel before
\nit got too dark to see the mark<\/p>\n
Cars were ripping by inches away
\nat zoom doppler speed and the
\nwind chill they generated was going
\nto numb my fingers down to fumbling
\nice lumps or drive me down to
\ncore shaking dizzy dropping hypothermia
\nbefore I could finish assembling the jack
\nplacing it in the sweet spot under the
\nrocker panel jacking and wrenching
\nand searching for the special lugwrench
\nfor the one wierd lug that kept anyone
\nincluding me from removing the floppy tire
\nKnowing I would be warm and secure
\nin my car, I had left without gloves
\nwithout a hat without a heavy coat
\nright away my fingers were as dextrous
\nas frozen carrots my ears \u2014 which I had
\nonce frozen until they looked like aircraft wings
\nwith ice wooly crystals and in need of deicing
\nbefore I could be cleared for takeoff \u2014
\nwere freezing and every other item on my checklist
\nwas cold colder coldest roger and out<\/p>\n
I was on a curve with a narrow shoulder
\ndrivers could not see me until the last
\ninstant it was getting darker as the sun
\nmoved lower in the sky. I was wondering
\nif I would finish before somebody on
\nan important cell phone call would
\ndecide the issue by wiping me away
\nfrom my task.<\/p>\n
I did finish, and I did pull back onto
\nthe road and drove to the exit
\na little way down the road on the silly
\nlow speed emergency donut tire
\nwhich got me home two hours later<\/p>\n
On the way, the sun hung incredibly bright
\nbehind me, as if putting a spotlight on
\na very foolish driver who will forever after
\ntake warm clothes, flares, and
\ncheck tire pressure on cold days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The sun was low in the clear cold sky in late November when I pulled off the busy four lane highway with a flat: rear, driver’s side There was almost no shoulder rush hour was just starting I had to … Continue reading