Teachable Moments

The familiar thump-thump-thump of a flat tire caused me to pull over into a parking lot. Normally I'd call the auto club, but, mindful that this was a teachable moment (see yesterday's post) for a young passenger, decided to change the tire myself.

It had been decades since I had performed the task, but fortunately the steps are easily reconstructed using common sense: 1) Ensure that the vehicle won't roll; 2) Pry off the hub cap; 3) Loosen the lug nuts before jacking up the car; 4) Jack up the car; 5) Remove nuts, remove tire, put on spare; 6) Put everything back in reverse order.

The Bridgestone spare was flat, not surprising because I hadn't bought Bridgestones since the mid-1990's and probably hadn't touched the tire since. Remember to check the air pressure on the spare---another teachable moment.

We limped to the gas station a block away, pressurized the tire, and continued to our destination.

Next time I will call the auto club. © 2014 Stephen Yuen