Long story short, it took the roadside service company two hours to get to me and I didn't even think they were going to make it. I got my portable air compressor out and reinflated the tire myself. That's when the guy shows up. Just then, a woman pulls up in front of me and bumps my car. I couldn't believe it. She didn't get out of her car and acknowledge what had happened. Her eyes were red. She was a middle-aged woman. I had to get her out of her car and confront her but there was still no real response. She was doing that, "I didn't do anything" thing. When that didn't work she tried other gambits. It was one ridiculous maneuver after another. She didn't damage my car, it turns out, but I just wanted her to acknowledge what had happened, pretend to care, apologize and drive away. She did none of those things. I asked her if she was drunk or stoned. She claimed self-righteously that she was crying because her mother was in a care home. She was toasted. She tried all the drunk maneuvers. She claimed she didn't have to move her car. Like she was just going to park there and walk away. There was a lot of back and forth.
She started to fake cry, and tell me her troubles. I said, "You can't cry," and "that's not appropriate." She told me I wasn't appropriate and I couldn't tell her where to park. As if that was the issue. Whatever I said, she pretty much just accused me of that and whined about her life. I didn't think it was the first time for that. All of this time, the roadside service guy, who was a tall, fit man in this thirties was busy with the tire. He didn't intervene. It felt disconcerting. He saw the whole thing. A generation ago, a man would have stepped up. Finally, Drunkerella did leave. It wasn't her first, second, third or fourth choice but finally the penny dropped in her drug-sodden mind. It seemed to happen when I said, "show some dignity and some class and leave." Maybe it reminded her of twelve-step language. I followed the roadside service guy to a service station he said was open. Earlier I had asked the dispatcher about what service stations were open and he didn't know. I could have actually handled the incident myself if he had told me that, instead of waiting two hours.
For some reason five or more people passed my car to get between me and the tow truck driver. Normally people don't pass me, especially in rush hour traffic in town on a Friday.
The roadside guy found a screw in the tire. He said it likely was put there on purpose. He told me my tire could be fixed because the puncture was not in the sidewall. At the service station they told me that the screw was likely an accident. They said that they could not fix the tire because the puncture was on edge between the side and the bottom of the tire. Huh. Hope they were telling me the truth. Last time I tried to have a tire fixed somewhere else they also said it should be replaced. I fixed it and it lasted it's full lifetime. Hmmmmmmm. The owner was kind of giving me some attitude but they got the tire replaced fast. The station has pretty good yelps, overall. The roadside driver said it was good. As I left, the gas was on empty, even though that wasn't likely. Really? Really? Slowly the needle went back after a few miles in the Friday evening traffic and I came to there I am now.
What was that? What the fuck was that?
Edited by Luminosity, 14 December 2013 - 07:06 AM.