No Pressure

When the low tire pressure light came on in the car yesterday, I could have chalked it up to the cold weather and refilled it myself, but I decided to take it as a reminder to have the car serviced, especially since we had just returned from a long drive at Thanksgiving and have another planned for Christmas. And I already had the appointment when the low oil light came on, too, so I was glad I made the choice I did.

After bowling this afternoon, I drove down to the dealer and settled in to wait a couple of hours in their lounge. A little while later, though, my service representative came over to report that there had been a power outage in the repair shop, and my car was stuck on the lift until it was restored. "Can I get you into a loaner?" she asked. "We have no idea how long it will take."

I shrugged in assent, but told her I might not be able to return the car until later tomorrow afternoon, since I am scheduled to do my first coaching observation in Maryland and then have lunch with my aunt afterwards. She assured me that it would be fine, and I wondered if this was another attempt to persuade me to buy a new car. After I signed the agreement, one of the porters was thoughtful enough to pull the brand-new sage-green Crosstrek into the check-in bay so that I wouldn't have to go outside in the rain, which I really appreciated. 

I was nearly home when the tire pressure light came on in that car, too. Unfortunately, our electric air pump was in our car, so I drove to a nearby gas station. There was a black sedan ahead of me at the air pump, but the driver moved out of my way and then hopped out to help me. He checked my tires for damage and then filled them all. I thanked him profusely for this random act of kindness, and then drove home, hopeful that I'll make it to Maryland tomorrow.