July 3
 |
| View from the top of the flatbed |
 |
| Robinson's happy face |
We set out for a road trip to the west in our new/used truck with new tires. We thought a weekend away would lift our spirits, and the five of us set off for a getaway near the beach. We had no more than gotten started out of town when it started to rain. Then--our front tire blew. Mickey went to change the tire and put on the spare, but only three of the lug nuts would loosen. He tried harder. It rained harder. The jack bent. It started to pour. I tried to help--certainly if Mickey couldn't get off the lug nuts in the pouring rain with a bent jack
I would be successful. No, more accurately it was a weak show of support. Mickey called the guy who sold him car insurance. We didn't have anyone else to call! It was a Saturday, but the insurance guy not only called back, he sent help. We waited. We Waited. We. Waited. Mickey called again. As luck would have it, the tow truck was on its way...to Mayaguez, not Ponce where we were. In the meantime two different motorists stopped to help in the downpour. One of them even came back a little while later to see if we were still okay. He turned out to be a tremendous help, and spoke Spanish on the cell phone with the tow truck driver. Finally help was on his way to Ponce. Robinson was thrilled when the truck showed up! It was a huge flatbed trailer. The driver hoisted us up with all five of us buckled inside. We speak little to no Spanish, but we trusted that he would haul us somewhere appropriate. It turns out his cousin owns a car repair shop. He could unlock it for us and we could use his tools to remove the stubborn lug nuts. It worked. Mickey successfully put on the spare. We scrapped our weekend plan and went to Wal-Mart instead.
