Flat Tire - a guest post written by May 9.11

We were driving home from D.C. when all of a sudden we stop.  I asked why.  Mom said we had a flat tire.  We all got out of the car and Grandma took us up the hill to the shade.  She made us sit on blankets because we'd get chigger bites.  By the time she had finished her "chigger-bites-will-itch" speech, Rose was so scared of chiggers she was crying (also partly from the heat and humidity).  Finally, a tow truck got here.  Rose fell asleep.  Ruth asked for a fan to fan Rose.  By now, all the adults were talking to the tow truck guy.  Ruth started fanning her.  Grandma stormed up the hill screaming at Ruth not to wake her up (which had more chances of doing so).  Fortunately, the sound was muffled by the sound of cars.  The tow truck guy towed away our van.  Rose is still asleep.  The car was parked next to a dead deer (we didn't run over it, mind you.  This was a long-dead deer.). There is a fly on my notebook.  Ugh.  How long 'til the cab gets here?!?!  Mom said if I write this she will post it on her blog.  (she has a blog?!?)  Dad passed out books.  I say no thanks.  I want to write.  After I am done writing this, I will return to my story about Nita the elf.  How many minutes have passed?!?!?!?  Ugh.  I'm hot.  I reached over to shoo a cricket off the (still) sleeping Rose.  I picked some queen Anne's lace for mom.  There is now a cricket on my notebook.  100,000,000 cars passing and not one of them is the cab.  THE CAB IS HERE!!!!  HALLELUJAH!  It is blue.  I have never been so overjoyed to see a cab!!!  We are in the cab now.  Dad tells the driver where we want to go.  The cab driver is from Africa.  The air conditioning feels soooooooooo good.  I will probably not be able to finish my summer reading now that we're gonna be late.  Right now I don't care.  I think I'm gonna follow Rose's example.... (zzzzz)

[On our return trip, we blew a tire about 90 minutes from home on a major freeway.  The tow truck couldn't accommodate 7 of us, so we had to call a cab as well.  Fortunately, the tire was repairable and after about a 3 hour delay, we got back on the road again.  But it was quite an adventure overall - big POP, my cell was dead, very decayed deer body, wheel locks that we couldn't get off so we couldn't change the tire ourselves....  We do nothing half way!]