Today, we were on our way to the funeral of my Uncle Bubba, up in the Delta, in the sleepy little town of Inverness, MS. The family was gathered at Cousin Will's house for a meal prior to the visitation and funeral at the Baptist Church. We were running late, and I didn't want to be a bother at Wills so I decided to venture on to Indianola for a quick bite.
I knew a finger or two would be shaken at me for not coming by. In small towns like Inverness, you never go hungry, especially during a funeral. Feelings get hurt if you don't come by, even if its for a slice of pie or a cup of coffee.
With time to get a quick bite, and make it back for the visitation, we approached the intersection of hwy 49 and 82. Suddenly i had a sneezing attack as i was pulling up to the stop sign, and the next thing you know, pop!, I had hit the curb and blown out the front left tire!
Well crap! So much for making it to the funeral service! I slowly made my way into the parking lot of the old Webers truck stop. Boy, the memories that flashed through my head from my youth!
We were in the spousal unit's Acura. These days they do not put spare tires in the trunk, you just get a tire inflation kit. Those damn Japanese! Time to dial 1-800 Acura roadside assistance, and the two hour wait for a tow truck and ride back to Brandon. :-(
I made several calls and a text message to see about getting the spousal unit to the funeral service while I saw about the car, but no luck.
Just then i had my first encounter with a highway angel! A black guy was in the parking lot working on an 18 wheeler. He walks up and asks me if he can help me with my flat. Bless him! I went through my issues with Acura's and the lack of a spare in the MDX. He then proceeds to tell me, "well, I have a friend that does tire repairs on trucks." Now, keep in mind, this is Sunday, 1:00, in the Mississippi Delta, what's my luck in finding a 19 inch Japanese specialty tire???
Well, son of a gun! The tire repair guy answered the call, and he just passed the only tire store open on Sunday in Indianola. He makes a u-turn, gets the specs for the tire from us, and low and behold, they have one used tire, $40, cash. Sold!
The tire repair guy, Chris Barnes, arrives, picks me up, and we are off to get that tire! I have just met my second highway angel of the day!
Yep! They had the used tire, including a hand full of leaves in the bottom to go with it. Back to Webers truck stop parking lot we go!
We get back to the car, and highway angel #1 and the truck he was working on, are gone. I look at the rim and notice the need for a specialty socket for the locked lug nut. Ok God, you have had my six so far..... yep, the lug socket was in the back! My new friend Chris worked his magic, and Presto! Used spare 19 inch tire is on the ground! I asked him how much I owed him. He says, "what ever you want to pay." Did i mention this is the Mississipi Delta? I gave him all I had, $55, and offered to meet at an ATM for more. His response, just drive safe my friend.
Would you believe we made it to the funeral service with five minutes to spare. God was in that santuary, but he had his highway angels working overtime, on a Sunday, in the Delta! God's country, yes indeed!
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