New Years Eve day found me on the road to Flagstaff with Katie. She had two doctor appointments, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We made it about 4 miles from Holbrook and Katie's car blew a tire. She called her dad to come and fix it and while we were waiting, the Highway Patrol stopped to help. It was bitter cold! The cop had no idea how to change the tire on her SUV but luckily her dad got there and did it. Katie didn't feel comfortable driving her car so we drove back to Holbrook and took my truck. We were only 10 minutes late for her appointment. In between appointments, we hit the thrift stores and craft stores. I've been replacing Pa's white t-shirts that are nothing but rags. Goodwill had brand new ones for $2.49 each. Pa likes white ones to work in. It's funny because in the summer, he gets tan thru the t-shirt and you can see white marks where his suspenders are. So now his drawer is full on new shirts. He didn't want to part with his old ones but compromised and put them in the rag bag. (What is it with men that they can't stand to part with raggy clothes? I got him new undies for Christmas and he wanted to save them for later and keep wearing his paper thin ones. No WAY!!!) As I do laundry, the old ones mysteriously disappear. Anyway, I didn't get home till 8 pm. Pa and I stayed up till the ball dropped in New York which was 10 our time. New Years day was very quiet. I remembered to watch the Rose Parade which I've missed since we moved here.
On Wednesday, Pa and I went to Show Low so he could have a minor procedure done. On the way, my truck kept making a weird noise. Pa stopped twice to check things out and couldn't find anything wrong. I dropped him off at the surgery center and then did some shopping. While driving back to the surgery center to pick him up, my front tires started wobbling. I slowly drove to the center and just as I was in front of the center, my truck went THUMP and my right front wheel passed me , hit the sign to the surgery center and landed in a ditch. Well let me tell you....God had his hands on my steering wheel because the truck didn't swerve at all. I managed to drive into the parking lot and found a parking place that I could get the truck into. There was nothing left of the wheel on the truck,just parts of the brake...maybe. I rolled the wheel out of the ditch, thru the parking lot and leaned it against my truck. I was covered with grease, dirt and mud. I went into the surgery center and told Pa " Well,I know what's wrong with the truck!" You should have seen his face when I told him the wheel fell off. I called Triple A and explained the situation. The dispatcher couldn't believe what happened and kept asking if I was ok. He said it would be 1 1/2 hours before anyone could get there but after I explained that I was picking my husband up after surgery, he put me on priority and they guy came in 30 minutes. Surgery was nothing serious but ya gotta play all the cards ya got, right?
The triple A guy took an hour to get the truck on his trailer and then dropped me off at Enterprise car rental while he and Pa went to the Chevy dealership to get the ball rolling there. The nice lady at Enterprise told me they had no cars available to rent! What!!!!! What?!!!! So I explained to her that we were stranded 75 miles from home and my poor husband just got out of surgery and my wheel fell off my truck. Yes, I'm ok thank you but I am stranded! Bless her heart, she rented me someone else's car. (I returned it early the next day so she could give it to the original renter) The guys at the Chevy dealer ship asked Pa if he had an appointment and he said no because he didn't know the wheel was going to fall off. The Chevy guys had never seen anything like this happen. They were pretty dumbfounded.
Pa and I finally made it home. It hit me then how blessed I was by God. If this had happened while Katie was driving my truck to Flagstaff going 65 MPH on the freeway, we might have ended up dead. If it happened on my way home from Holbrook, with me going 85 MPH in the dark on a lonely road, I might have ended up dead. If it came off on our way to Show Low, we may have ended up dead. If the wheel came off anywhere other than in front of the surgery center, some one else might have ended up dead. As it was, the wheel hit the sign in front of the building which was made of bricks. It shot backwards and landed in a ditch. It could have just as easily shot across the road and hit oncoming traffic or a pedestrian. The truck kept going straight and even tho I had no brakes, I was able to slow down enough to drive into the drive way and find a good place to park. When the wheel came off, the truck didn't even lurch to the right. The rim and tire are just fine. Wish I could say the same for the wheel bearings, brake drum and all related parts. The brake line was sheered off as well as other parts of the brake assembly. It is only by the grace of God that every thing and everyone is ok. I even had enough cash in my IRA to pay for repairs. We get to pick the truck up this Tuesday morning. I have thanked God so many times, He probably wishes I would shut up! But I really feel it is only because of Him that every thing is ok. GOD IS GREAT! And don't you forget it!
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