When the Milhamster was a young pup…
At school, he used to burst at the seams to be let out for lunch break.
Along with the rest of the hoarde, he would scramble out the doors of the classroom as fast as his 7-year old legs could carry him.
The race was on to get to the tyre shed first.
Friend or foe, you jostled and tustled your way past to lay hands on the prize.
There was only ONE tyre we ever set our sights on.
It wasn’t from your average Toyota or Datsun. Too small for a car. And far too wide for a motorbike.
But it didn’t matter where it came from.
This beaut was small, smooth, and FAAAST.
Once or twice even weedy little me managed to nab it.
When you got it spinning just right, it tore along… leaving the other tyres in its dust.
Good times 😊
A couple of days ago… was like being back in the schoolyard.
Once again I found myself rolling a tyre along the tarmac by hand.
This time it was from my own car.
The car now on blocks in our driveway. The left rear wheel spinning along beside me as I walked it to the tyre shop.
I felt kinda glad that my daughter had taken off in our other car… and that the shop was only a few minutes down the road… so really wasn’t worth borrowing a neighbor’s car to move it.
Otherwise I wouldn’t have had this nostalgic pleasure.
Or the dusty, grimy muck all over my hands.
BLISS!
So I’m taking this trip to the tyre shop to get the wheel rim repaired. Because of a rather large (and apparently unsafe) dent in it.
That dent happened when we got a flat tyre a few weeks back.
We were out in the countryside. In the middle of nowhere. With a carload of teenagers who were heading into the ranges for a hike.
Our car doesn’t have space for a spare tyre. So it had to be towed!
It wasn’t the most fun day.
The tyre guy said at the time it might not pass the warrant of fitness safety checks when they came due. And it didn’t.
So more expense. And our main car out of action for a few days while the wheel is sent off for repairs.
But by the time I arrived at the tyre shop, I didn’t care about any of that.
Because there’s nothing quite like rolling a car tyre along the street…
And feeling like you’re a kid again.