A flat tire turns into a Valentine gift

Linda Walker

The news yesterday, Valentine’s Day, was dominated by yet another gun killing at a school, this time at a high school in Parkland, Fla. And yet another NRA-backed bunch of politicians mouthing the same tired, sickening lines. Too soon to talk about possible solutions, but thoughts and prayers blah blah blah.
Blah.

But there was another story that also deserves attention. This one happened very close to home. It involved numerous acts of kindness, and it happened to my wife, Linda Haley Walker, who is herself a kind and gentle person.

Linda also is a good writer; she co-wrote our new novel, the soon-to-be-published “Half in Two.” So I’ll let her tell her story.

“I went to our grocery store in the afternoon to pick up groceries for the week. My adventure began when I came out of the store to find it raining. (This is a somewhat rare occurrence lately for us who live in Tucson. It is very much generally appreciated since we’re almost constantly in the middle of a drought.)

“I put the groceries in the trunk of the car and went to the driver side door where I found a note informing me that I had a serious car problem:

  YOUR RIGHT

REAR TIRE

IS FLAT

 "I checked to see, and indeed, the tire was flat as a proverbial pancake.
 "Since I don’t have, and never have wanted, a cell phone, I went into the store to use the store phone to call AAA. The store employees were very sympathetic and allowed me to tie up their phone line for several minutes. The lady at AAA told me that someone would be there to help within an hour. She also said that if I didn’t have a usable spare tire, they would send a tow truck to take me home.

“After transferring the groceries from the trunk to the back seat so AAA could get to the spare tire, I waited in the car for about twenty minutes (the rain falling even harder) and then got out to be more visible to whoever was coming to help me.

“A man and woman came out of the store, got into a van parked in front of my car, and backed out to leave. Then, I guess, the man noticed me standing with my umbrella, and he pulled back into his parking place and asked me if my battery was dead. I told him that I had a flat tire and had called AAA.

“He got out in the rain and came to tell me that he couldn’t leave someone in distress. He then found my spare tire, which, unfortunately, also needed air. He apologized for not having an air compressor to inflate it. And then, he reluctantly left after wishing me well.

“About fifteen minutes later a AAA repair truck arrived with a very pleasant and helpful repairman.  Without even checking my identification or membership, he re-inflated the spare and put it on the car for me Again, I received an apology. He said that he was sorry that I had to wait so long in the rain and then he wished me well and went on his way.”

So that’s it -- the end of Linda's story. Nothing too dramatic or earth-shaking, but no shootouts in the rain either. Just people being kind, caring for others, doing their jobs well.

I wish every day were like that. Every day could be Valentine’s Day -- the good kind, with love and kindness.