The Airwalk Angel

Last week my friend Rachel and I decided to go to the casino just outside of Joplin for a little gambling fun. Little did we know how much "fun" we would have. Anyway, after about getting into one car accident, we were on the interstate headed towards our destination. We were riding in Rachel's car and cruising along smoothly when all of a sudden, we hear a thud, thud, thud sound. I asked Rachel if she thought we had a flat tire, and she said that the rim was bent on the back tire of the driver's side, and it caused the tire to deflate a little. She said that we we stop at the next gas station along the way and air it up again.

Well, the next gas station was in the middle of nowhere. It was a small Sinclair station about twenty miles away from Joplin. When we pulled up there was no obvious air pump, but Rachel made me get out in the literally two degree weather and ask the cashier if they had air. He told me that they did, and he handed me the hose to hook up outside.

I went back out and Rachel got out of the car to try and air up the tire. I hooked up the hose, and Rachel commenced airing the tire up. All was going great except for one thing, the tire was not airing up. Rachel said she didn't know if she was doing it right since the hose was different than most we had seen before. Then an old man got out of his truck and walked over, asking if we needed help. He took over the hose and tried to air up the tire. He even tried using Rachel's can of Fix-A-Flat, but nothing was working. Well, then he felt around the tire and said that there was a huge gash in the back of the tire and asked if we had a spare. Thankfully, Rachel did have a spare. The old man then proceeded to change the tire for us in the extreme cold. By this time I could no longer feel my face.

Once he was done, he told us that the spare should be fine to get us by until we got the car to a garage the next day. We thanked him over and over, because if he hadn't changed the tire for us we would have had to call another friend back in Springfield which was almost an hour away.

When we got in the car and were once again on our way again, Rachel asked if I had noticed the man's shoes. I said that I didn't, and she told me that they were Airwalks, which are a brand of skate shoes Rachel likes. We both found it extremely weird that he was wearing skate shoes. So from that point on, the old man was our Airwalk angel. He helped us in a time of need, and truly proved that people can be good and act selflessly.

A Parking Disaster!

This morning I was on my way to my Human Communication class which started at nine. I was proud of myself for being fifteen minutes early as I pulled into the OTC parking lot. Cruising the first lot, along with a lot of other people, I saw that there weren't any spaces to be had.

Despite the disappointment in the first lot, I traveled over to the second lot. I went down aisle after aisle, but there were still no spaces. So, I went to a third lot. By then I was starting to get worried that I wouldn't find one! I cruised the third lot, and sure enough, there weren't any spaces.

I went back to the second lot and look again, but there were still none. By then it was five minutes until my class started. I was starting to get really angry. I looked for people getting out of class who were going to their cars. There were a few, but there were so many people trying to get parking spots I didn't have any luck at getting one.

I glanced down at the clock in my car and it said it was nine o'clock! I was late, and to top it off, my class is on the third floor! By then I was furious. I finally said screw it and went across the street to park.

I got out of my car praying I wouldn't get a ticket in the fifty minutes I was gone. I had a long hike to my class, and I was already late. I went as fast as I could, but it took me awhile to make it across the treacherous street. I hustled up the two flights of stairs to make it to the third floor. Breathless, I finally entered the class a full ten minutes late. Luckily though, I hadn't missed anything important and the teacher didn't mind.

Apparently from now on I am going to have to arrive at the college at the crack of dawn in order to secure a parking space or else I will be subjected to parking across the street again. Parking is a disaster at OTC, and I can't wait to tackle the same problem every day for the next two years!

Help! Need Gas Money!

After cleaning my car today, I decided it was time to start packing for the beach. I stuffed three fourths of my clothes into a suitcase, and as I did I remembered that I didn't have any of the travel size shampoo to take along. So tonight around eight thirty, I traveled to Target to pick up this much needed item. After getting the shampoo and getting into my car, I traveled out of the parking lot and onto the road where I was forced to wait out a red light. I was just leaning back listening to my music, when I noticed a woman standing at the corner of the intersection. She was probably in her mid forties, wore simple shorts and a t-shirt, and was on her cell phone. But when I looked closer, I noticed she was holding a sign. The sign read, "Help! Need Gas Money!" I knew I didn't have any cash on me or I probably would have given her a couple dollars.

As I sat there though, I couldn't help but be skeptical of the whole situation. Here this woman was standing on the corner of the road with no parked car even remotely near her, and she was on her cell phone. From her facial expressions, it didn't look like she was in hysterics. In fact, it looked like she was actually enjoying the conversation. Also, doesn't everyone have a debit card these days? I would think if you owned a car, you would definitely carry one. Plus, why didn't she just walk to the nearest store or gas station to see if someone could help her? Instead she was standing on the street corner in a dimly lit area. But then again, it was close to nine o'clock at night, and she certainly didn't look like a con artist. Even though I was skeptical, I probably would have given her some cash if I had had any.

As I drove off, I thought more and more about the lady. What was her life story? What got her to the point where she was standing on the corner of the streeet asking people for money? She looked like your average middle aged woman. Did she recently lose her job and was barely scraping by on what little funds she could save? Was she just passing through Springfield and simply ran out of gas...and cash? I will never know what her story is, but I will make sure to mention her in my prayers tonight and ask God to bless her and help her in her time of need.

And You Thought Your Car Was Dirty...

This Thursday, two of my friends and I will be heading to Gulf Shores. It will definitely be a road trip to remember. We are taking my car, and I am driving the eleven and a half hours to the beach. Unfortunately, my car was not the cleanest of cars. This morning I spent two and a half hours cleaning it. To prove just how messy it was, here is a list of all the items I found in just the trunk: a plate, a tent, a Relay for Life bronze team sign complete with metal stand, a 48 oz. box of elbow macaroni, a pack of four Tylenol Rapid Release Gels, Dirty Minds game, a sleeping bag, a pooper scooper, an empty maroon binder, an American Eagle polo top, a Relay for Life shirt, an umbrella, my senior project valedictory assignment, four FACS aprons that belong to the school, a pair of heavy duty waterproof gloves, a box of Band-Aids, a fanny pack, a curling iron, a winter hat, a pair of tan panty hose, a pair of red gloves, sixteen comment cards from the Relay for Life play, a Jumping Jacks firework, a pair of scrapbooking scissors, a pair of tye-dyed long socks, a dog harness, cable ties, a pair of Adidas socks, two bottles of clear school glue, a bottle of glitter, three marshmallow lovers hot chocolate mix, a purse with a peace sign on it, my cords from graduation, Febreze Air Effects spray, a pair of black gloves, three socks without matches, a Celtic Wonder cd case, an All American Rejects cd case, a Wow Hits 2008 cd case, The Fray cd case, an empty Skittles package, a pack of Trident gum, two boxed of matches, a bottle of hand sanitizer, a wallet with no money inside : (, a Matchbox 20 cd case with The Fray cd inside, a blank cd case, a tupperware container, a shot glass, Tide to go, two lighters, two pens, two pencils, one little dynamite firework, two smoke bombs, two crackling ball fireworks, a draft of my senior project paper, a diploma cover, the final KWSB episode, a folder containing all the CAT work I ever did, two sets of headphones, deodorant, a parachute firework, a hammer, two wrenches, a pencil bag filled with all sorts of crap, an Adidas beanie, a money bag that belongs to WSHS, my graduation tassel, a bottle of Glade air freshener, a flag from Relay for Life that says "site 3," two foam paintbrushes, a card from my mom, a quarter machine ball with a small cup inside, a card from Melissa, a pink dog toy, a skateboard, a pair of gray gloves, a pair of fuzzy pink gloves, a Guinness hat, a pair of black panty hose, a camo hat, a camera case, a pair of brown work gloves, and a pair of river shoes.

Total Items in Trunk: 118

The Awkward Eye Contact...

Anytime we are at a stoplight, we always have the urge to look around, especially at the driver next to us. You can deny it all you wish, but once your foot hits the brake, and you are at a complete stop, it is as if some cosmic force is pulling your head to glance out the window. The more you try to resist, the stronger the urge. You try to ignore it, but finally the urge consumes your entire body, and you just have to know what the person next to you is doing. We try to be discreet in our efforts to glance at our fellow motorists, but as soon as we turn our heads, we are inevitably met with the piercing eyes of the driver next to us. Panic ensues as we realize they have seen us. What do you do now? Do you give a friendly smile? Do you just continue to stare? Or like me do you almost always find yourself quickly averting your gaze as if you weren't really trying to look at them in the first place? It was just a mere coincidence. Unfortunately though, you both know it was not. It was the most awkward five seconds of your day, but alas, as you once again get the courage to look up from your steering wheel, you notice that the light has changed to green and you can move on with your life, that is, until the next red light and awkward eye contact just down the road.