Off the Record: The advantage of experience

By Roberta Gubbins
Legal News

There are advantages to having been on this earth for a few decades. Experiences pile up making new situations not so new and thereby easier to accept and solve.
On a recent road trip to Columbus for yet another writing conference, writer daughter Melissa, driving my little Honda Fit, hit a pothole. A loud thump emanated from the front end.
“Wow,” I said, “that was one big hole.”
The next sound was the lub-dub sound of a blown tire. Melissa punched the button for the flashers, slowed down, rounded a corner and we pulled into a driveway leading to what appeared to be a college. We came to a large circular drive in front of a main building. We pulled to the side and parked in back of a large van.
Getting out of the car, we looked at the passenger side front tire. It was indeed flat, but it appeared we had not done too much damage to the rim. Looking around we realized that the buildings around us were grand and appeared to house seminarians. This assumption was later confirmed when we saw several men, dressed in long, black cassocks, deep in conversation.
Having had the experience of flat tires in the past and knowing there was no way we were going to change a tire, I grabbed my cell phone and AAA card and placed a call. While I was on the phone, a group of young men approached us asking it we needed help. Melissa said we were calling AAA and asked where we were. One of them told us we were at the Pontifical Seminary-Josephium branch and gave us the address.
I explained our predicament and location to Denise, the person who answered my call. She assured me that the guy would be there within 45 minutes. Melissa used her phone to take a picture of the flat tire. I don’t know why, but it seemed necessary to document the event in some tangible form.
We climbed back in the car, leaving the doors open for some fresh air on a lovely day. Melissa got out her makeup bag. She proceeded to repair her nails and attach some eyelashes to further prepare for the author reception she was to attend that evening.
I figured any beauty efforts on my part were either unnecessary or a lost cause so I booted up my computer. The Seminary had wireless. Good. We sat and waited—Melissa becoming more beautiful and me reading e-mail.
A dog belonging to a group of priests-in-training strolling by came over to say hello. He didn’t stay long. “He probably knows you haven’t been to Mass in a while,” Melissa commented. While I agreed, I was a little put out that the dog did not find me worthy of notice. Max, my Bichon with the attitude problem, would have at least barked.
AAA appeared in the form of a big truck and a young man to change the tire. He dragged the donut size tire out of the trunk, putting it on after struggling to remove the flat. We were mobile again.
Melissa was able to drive with wet nails and new eyelashes. I completed my computer duties, put the netbook away and we were on the road. The whole event took less than an hour.
That afternoon while Melissa schmoosed with other writers, I sat at the really dirty tire store while a new tire (cost $100.00) was attached. I pondered the situation and marveled at how an unexpected and rather costly event was handled with ease. We used the down time to complete some tasks. We didn’t fuss.
Fortunately, we found a safe place off the busy streets. For us, being women, a seminary was an ideal spot.  Cell phones made the request for help easier than in the past when we had to find a phone. Having the money to pay for the tire helped.
I concluded that the journey of life gets easier as you travel down the road. The speed bumps smooth out, frustrations ease, and downtime is treated with pleasure not regret. Or, as in our case, is used to advantage.