While in Pittsburgh on vacation, I had a minor bit of car trouble. As many of you know, minor problems have ways of elevating their importance. This problem, a tire that was losing air at a pretty good clip, occurred the day before I was leaving for home, and at a point when most tire shops were getting ready to close. I don’t normally highlight specific vendors, but I’m giving a shout out to Calabro Tire in Upper St Clair, Pennsylvania.
My brother and I both remember Calabro from when we lived about a block from their original location. I wasn’t looking to tug on an old connection, but I felt like I knew this place. I called. I explained my situation—probably in more detail than necessary, as I am wont to do. They told me to come right in. I knew that if the tire couldn’t be fixed, I’d need at least two, perhaps four new tires. I wasn’t sure there would be time for that, but they assured me they would do whatever was required.
The tire mechanic jacked up my car, seemed to poke around in the area where the spare tire is before asking me where the “Key” was for the wheel locking lug nuts. The key wasn’t where it should have been. I had had the tires rotated last month, I suspect the dealer didn’t replace the key. Now what?
The mechanic said, “I can break the lock off, if you’re okay with that.” What else could I do?
I was startled as I watched the mechanic remove the wheel lock in less than 30 seconds. I won’t say how, lest there be any wanna-be wheel thieves reading this, but it was easy. The good news, he was able to fix the tire.
After realizing that I wouldn’t be able to change any of the other tires, if I had a flat on the way home, I asked him remove the other three locks and replace them with the original lug nuts. Not being a service they normally provide, he had to ask his manager. After a brief discussion, we all agreed that was a sensible thing to do. I guess I’ll replace the wheel locks, but I’m not sure why. At least I got a one-liner out of it.
“Protect against wheel and tire theft, or at least delay the process a few seconds.”
One-Liner Wednesday by Linda G. Hill
All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
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