hayden709•1mo agoProlific Poster

I finally got my car's flat tire changed by myself at 2 AM

My tire blew out on a back road near the old quarry last night, and I had never actually used the jack from my trunk before. I watched a quick video on my phone and managed to get the spare on after about 45 minutes of fumbling in the dark. What's the most stressful roadside fix you've had to figure out on the fly?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendys161mo ago

My worst was a broken serpentine belt on I-95 in the middle of a summer heatwave. The car started overheating immediately and I had to limp it to an exit. I realized I had to figure out the routing diagram under the hood and get a new belt from a parts store that was about to close. It feels like a lot of modern life is just a series of these small, urgent puzzles. We watch a two minute video and are suddenly expected to be experts in crisis management. It's stressful but there's a weird pride in getting it done, especially when you're alone in the dark.

murphy.barbara1mo ago

I-95 in summer heat is brutal, @wendys16, but that pride after fixing it yourself is real.

julia_patel1mo ago

That "alone in the dark" feeling @wendys16 mentioned is so real. I once had a flat tire in a terrible rainstorm and just sat there for a minute feeling totally beat. Figuring it out when you have no other choice does stick with you.