Bad Things Come in Threes...

My mom has always said that bad things come in threes. It has also been said that good things come in threes, but today was definitely more of the former. Actually, I'll have to backtrack to yesterday. In fact, I'll backtrack even further.

So, when I talked to my mom on Saturday she told me that my Oma was in the hospital. Sunday night I had a strange dream where a man told me that my grandmother had died. He didn't say "Oma", but I felt it was implied. I've had premonitions in the past, but nothing like this.

You think you know where this is going, don't you?

My Oma didn't die, but my dad's mother, Gram did. My dad called yesterday (I haven't heard from him since my birthday) to let me know that my Gram died in her sleep 11/12/07. He was very nonchalant, which was reminiscent of the dream. Weird huh?

So let's consider my Gram dying as bad thing #1.

Onto bad thing number 2. I was driving my car today and it started making a weird "thwapping" sound.

Any guesses as to what happened?

You guessed it - my tire was flat. In fact it looked as if my front driver's side tire had melted. As luck would have it, I was wearing my brand new stark-white sweater! It was rainy and I couldn't figure out the jack. Thankfully - I have a very loving husband who would do just about anything for me. A couple of hours later, Sam arrived from work, still clad in his shirt and tie to change my tire. (Note to readers: because the flat tire was not enough, the spare tire was also low on air - basically flat). As we drove to the nearby gas station to add some air to the spare, the car began smoking. I now bring you to bad thing number 3.

Smoking and a burning oil smell are not the things that you want spewing from a car. After going back and forth about what we wanted to do, we called triple-A (AAA to those of you not in the know). A tow truck was sent to us - really quickly. Originally, we thought we wanted the car to be taken to Pep Boys, but our driver, Milton convinced us otherwise. He worked for a AAA Shell service station and already felt like he knew what was wrong with the car (it had too much oil - who ever heard of such a thing?) He also told us that he could patch the tire and put it back on. We couldn't refuse.

So we arrived at the Shell station and were sent to the Outback Steakhouse next door to wait for the call telling us the status of the car. About 30 minutes later, I called Shell and they reported that the car was finished. We walked across the street only to find out that the car had been parked at the Outback Steakhouse for us. The tire had been patched and returned to it's spot on the front of my car and the oil was cleaned from around the engine, and the check engine light was turned off.

And the good things that come in threes you ask?

1. Cost of towing - free from AAA
2. Cost of having car repaired - nothing, zip, nada, zero, on the house
3. Realizing that there are still good people in the world. Thanks Milton and One Stop Shell owner!

So the Red Rocket lives on!!! I am so thankful that Sam was on hand for all of the manly jobs - and no one looks better changing a tire with a tie on, kneeling awkwardly on the sun visor. And thank goodness he was on hand when the car started smoking! My bad luck definitely could have been worse!!!