For Want of a Jack

This week, I got a flat tire. I steered to the side of the road easily and pulled out the spare tired from my trunk. I’ve changed a flat tire several times before. But this time it took over 2 hours to put the new tire on.

What took so long? I did have the tire. But I didn’t have a jack to lift the car. (I think I left it in the garage…mental note: find my jack!)

I called for roadside assistance. The truck found me in 30 min. But as the guy was still walking to me his radio starting squawking. He froze, caught my eye and said, “A car is on fire. I’ll be back!” Then he literally ran back to his truck and tore out of there.

90 minutes later he did come back, changed tires in 5 minutes, and I finished the drive home.

Little things make a big difference. As the old saying goes:

For want of a nail the horseshoe was lost,

for want of a horseshoe the horse was lost,

for want of a horse the knight was lost,

for want of a knight the battle was lost,

failure in battle meant the kingdom was lost.

So a kingdom was lost—all for want of a nail.

What I learned: Pay attention to the little things. Be grateful for the little things. And don’t leave your tire jack in your garage.

For Want of a Jack

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