Get your tires checked!

Well, friends, if you have bought tires from Discount Tires in the past two years, you should be aware that there is a recall on the valve stems. They will replace the valve stems for free even if you don't have the paperwork. So, you may be asking how I know this. No, I did not receive paperwork in the mail from Discount Tires as I was informed that they are sending out only 1000 per week and they must not have made it to our name yet. I informed them that they could have caused me a lot less stress and them a lot less trouble if they had simply mailed them all at the same time. Here is my story:

I woke up Friday morning ready for me and the kiddos to drive my niece, C, to Houston to meet with her mom, my sister-in-law so that they could go to a couple of doctor's appointments. The first thing I noticed on our new white car, was that there was a flat tire on the back. We got over to Dinky's work and saw the screw in the tire, so we decided to take the little Geo. We finally got on our way only about 30 minutes later than planned, but we made it there. The trade off went well, and with warm good-byes since we wouldn't see each other again until Christmas, the kids and I were on the way to the Woodland's Mall, and C & C were on their way to appointments. Little did I know that we would see each other much sooner! I was driving in the middle lane of the fabulous 5-lane Interstate 45 when there was a thunk, and Princess immediately asked if we had a flat tire. I thought that we had just hit something on this busy highway since the car did not jerk or swerve, but within seconds, I knew that I was wrong. We managed to pull over to the shoulder of the road, and I was ready to cry. Here I was on a busy interstate, in view of an exit (Rayford-Sawdust for those of you that now the area) but unable to drive any further as I was already on the rim, with two young children in my car. I called Dinky who offered to come get me, but he is of course, hours away. I call C & C who immediately turned around and came back to sit with me. And, my brother-in-law, who was on the phone with my sister-in-law, called his auto service who would send someone to come rescue me in about an hour. An hour! So, that is when Dinky called back and said to take it Discount Tires because that is where we just bought the 4 new tires just over a year ago, and his boss had told him about the recall that we didn't know about. Finally, a fabulous mechanic shows up and changes my tire to the donut, then he actually follows me to Discount Tire to make sure that I get there safely. How sweet and wonderful is that! C had already taken the kids in her car to get them off of the highway, and she met me at the tire store. I informed the wonderful worker at Discount Tire that my tire had just blown out and that I wanted all of my tires checked for this recall. The man nicely walked out to my car, took one look at the valve on the tire, and said, "Yep. That is what caused the blowout." Really! Nice time to find out! Essentially, the valve had split open at a weak point which caused the pressure to burst the tire. But I ended up with a brand new tire, and four brand new valve stems for absolutely free. Since "Customer Satisfaction" was written on my receipt, I feel sure that that little part about them trying to kill me and my children which I said very loudly in ther packed waiting room helped in getting such great service. Anyhow, the children and I ended up going with C & C to their doctor's appointments, and we had a pleasant enough day. Dinky had to drive down to pick up my keys from Discount Tire since we wouldn't get back out there in time, so he met us for dinner and then we drove home. We got home at 11:30 P.M. We were pooped!

Things that I am thankful for:
*Great family members who came and rescued me! It was very comforting to have someone there to help me make decisions.
*My brother-in-law's great auto service!
*The great guy with Milstead Automotive who also protected me and himself by the way he parked behind me to change the tire. There have been way too many incidents of cars parked on shoulders being hit and people being killed, and the tire that needed changing was on the trafiic side. He angled the van, and he turned the tires away from us so that, if hit, it would go away from us. How thoughtful!
*My friends and family who prayed for the safety of me and the children. Because of their prayers, all except one car was able to merge into the second lane and not pass close to us on the shoulder. It was like we were "removed" from the road!
*We had a great day despite all the stress and nobody was seriously injured or hurt! It could have been much worse!

When I figure out how to download pictures from my phone, I will show the picture of my wonderful tire. I will also try really hard to update you this week on our other, more fun activities!