You can never tell.

When I changed my tires from Summer to Winter last fall, my service people told me that one tire would need to be replaced. I was not surprised as it had shOwn a tendency to go flat. I had arranged last week to take the car in on Tuesday, to get the tires changed and some other minor work carried out. Today, Saturday we were headed back from a shopping trip when I hit a pothole and heard a bang. I carried on hopefully, but soon realised that I had a flat, and headed to the nearest air station, just before I reached it, further sinister noises indicated that the tire and the rim had become separated.

Now I have a real problem, I am one of the few people of my age (88) in New Brunswick who does not carry a cell phone at all times. I do have a primive one, but I only use it to tell children when they can pick me up at the airport. There is a Camadian Tire Gas pump attached to the air pump.but it is really only a convenience store. The man behind the counter is reluctant to let me use his phone to call CAA as he says they take forevsr to answer. In the end I persuade him to try, and they answer immediately, and hearing that I have no spare tire. or so I believe, they say a tow truck should be with me in 90 minutes. or 45 minutes if I am lucky.

They say that only one person can ride in the tow truck and my wife who is just a young thing, a year younger than me, thinks she can make it the 2 kilometres home on foot. Almost as soon as she leaves, the CAA tow truck arrives driven by one of those cheerfull chaps who they always seem to have. He rapidly proves me wrong and located the spare tire that I do indeed have. He demonstrates the skill of an experienced tire changer, and in a few minutes has me gratefully on the road again. I head for home and succeed in picking up my wife after she has only walked one of the two kilometers.

Now we will have to wait what new crises develop at the dealer on Tuesday:will our Maitime good fortunr continue?