Posh Bagel
Coffee Price: $1.89
Thursday, I got a flat tire. The day started like a normal Thursday, with the optimism that only a Thursday can bring. Thursday, one more day until Friday, one more day until the weekend.
I got into my car and started driving away. Just then, a man pounded on my car window. It was terrifying. But maybe it says something about me that I just assumed it was a crazy person pounding on my car door. No, it was not a crazy person. It was a nice old man, telling me I had a flat tire. I thanked him and drove back to my parking spot.
At this moment I do what I always do when I’m faced with something semi-related to being an adult. I called my dad. He was in a meeting and couldn’t answer but confirmed via text that I should call AAA. To be fair, I knew this was the answer but sometimes you just need someone to tell you that you’re doing the right thing.
So I called AAA and waited. This is technically not my first flat tire. My first flat tire was on the way to a wedding. I was driving my dad’s car in the middle of summer up to Riley’s Apple Farm for a wedding when the tire busted. My parents were gone for the weekend and I had been carpooling with my oldest friend, Debs. We did not know how to change a tire and even if we did, we were in wedding attire. We were not going to show up to that wedding covered in sweat and oil (does that happen when you change a tire?).
I had a long debacle with AAA where they told me that my membership had expired. I was freaking out. I had to renew it. Did I have the money to pay for that over the phone? I was fresh out of college! The truth was that my AAA membership had not expired and I just spent an extra 15 minutes on the phone freaking out and being transferred back and forth between different operators.
While we were waiting in 80 degree weather for our tow truck to come, some nice couple stopped. The man offered to change our tire for us. Yes, that really happened! Some random guy pulled over and changed our tire while it was blazing hot outside. Debs went to thank the wife who was waiting in the car. She asked “Have you heard of Jesus?” Why yes, actually we had, but that’s hardly the point.
So, I guess I knew what I needed to do that Thursday morning when I got my flat. I called AAA with no mishaps this time. The tiny excuse of a tire that is called a spare was put on my car and it was time for me to find a tire shop.
First things first, I decided I deserved a morning treat. I mean, clearly this whole experience was an emotional ordeal. So I went to get a bagel and coffee. Jalapeño Cheddar with lox spread (because it’s cheaper than actual lox and I ain’t made of money) and avocado (jk, apparently I am).
Posh Bagel is across the street from my house and never does me wrong when it comes to bagels. The coffee reminds me of my college cafeterias. We had this same brand in these same coffee pods in all the cafeterias on campus. They kept me highly caffeinated in my moments of need. So my enjoyment of this coffee is out of sheer nostalgia.
I ate my bagel at home, did some Yelp research on tire shops near by, and did the most adult thing I’ve done all year, got my tires fixed all by myself! Also, I’d like to take a moment to just ask, how did people ever fix their cars without the internet? Like how did you know where there was a shop? Did you all just call your dad and assume that even though he was 400 miles away, he would somehow know the exact shop you should take your car to?
So, I was reminded of how lucky I am to have the internet. I am also very lucky to have a father who will tell me if I have to get new tires, I should get two at a time, and one who gives me the worst case scenario, so when things turn out to be totally fine, I end up feeling like things worked out totally in my favor. This is some deep psychological mind trick that I’m sure my dad knows he’s doing but it doesn’t matter because it works.
Also, shoutout to A&A Tire & Repair on Shattuck. They were awesome and fixed my tire in less than 30 minutes. The guy also explained to me how to know when I needed to repair my tire. So, I felt like I learned a lot today.
Here’s to another day of being an adult.
