No, I Don’t Want Any Help
I went out for a run this morning and it went just fine. 6.5 miles in an hour with only minimal pain in my hip. When I was heading home I realized I had a flat tire. Not a big deal, except for the fact that there was nowhere in sight for me to pull over and change my tire without risking getting run over. No problem, this is why I pay for a Triple A membership, I’ll call for roadside assistance.
But wait…I left the house without my wallet.
I called my wife who scanned and emailed me a copy of my membership card but in the meantime I had found a safe spot to change the tire. I popped the trunk and got to work.
Here’s a fact about me. When I start on a task I don’t like to be interrupted, I don’t like to talk about what I’m doing or why I’m doing it. I just like to get things done and move on. My father was just like me in this regard, especially when it came to cars. He frequently drove older cars that would not always get us all the way home, when we’d find ourselves stranded on the side of the road he knew how to fix it and he did not want to discus it with anybody. Good Samaritans, mechanics passing by and the police were welcome to just keep on going.
This morning I was polite to the first few people who stopped to say “Flat tire eh?”
“Yup” I said, “It happens, I got it.”
As I was loosening the bolts from the flat a man walked up and offered to change it for me for $5.
A $5 tire change is a good deal, but I was already too far in. I made a counter offer.
Pointing behind my car I said:
“I’ll give you $5 to stand over there and tell people to keep on moving along.”
I was done in less than 10 minutes and a stranger was $5 richer.
