Jeff Davis | Vent Section Manager

I've made that turn a several billion times. If I get in the left lane of Norwood and make a precise zip into the right lane of Tyler to make the right turn into the Citgo, I can make the turn with ease. I've made the turn with all kinds of vehicles: a Mercury Sable, a Volvo 240, a Ford Windstar and my pride and joy, my Nissan Maxima. But last Thursday the gods weren't smiling on me.

Pop pop! I hear as I pull up next to the pump. My car slumps slightly to the right, and I know what has happened. I get out and see both of my right tires are blown out. The sound and the shake were enough to frighten my passenger and I into thinking my car was severely wounded. But it's just tires.

We push the car into a spot and walk back to my apartment where my roommate Tony gives me a ride to Wal-Mart to buy two new tires. We get the tires and after much bravery, decide we don't have the skill to take the busted tires off the rims. Or the arm strength. Granted, Tony is a really big dude but it just wasn't happening.

So we had to find a place to take the old tires off the rims and put the new ones on. Then we realized as we were stuffing the four tires into Tony's Camaro: it's nighttime. And there isn't a single 24-hour garage we know of.

I would have had the thing towed, but I needed the car the next day. So it was imperative that we get the tires on the rims as soon as possible. So we go back to the Wal-Mart. It's past seven and they can't take cars after then. As if cars don't break down after seven o'clock. So we go to Christiansburg. Nothing. Then we go to Blacksburg. Nada. Tony and I were very entertained by the station attendant at Campus Exxon:

"Yeah, I can put tires on rims for you."

"Okay, thanks so much!" (Tony and I get the rims and tires and bring them to him.)

"Aw, dude, I'm sorry, I was thinking of something else. I can't do that for you."

We think to ourselves, how do you misinterpret, "put tires on rims?" Then he offers to "try" the tire machine with my expensive rims. If you don't know how to do it, don't experiment with hardware people have to use later!

Anyway, we borrow his phone book. And like divine intervention from the lights above the gas pumps, we see the listing for Harmon Chevron in Christiansburg. We call them, and the attendant, an older chap named Marvin, says, "Sure, come on down, I can put them on for you."

We find his establishment situated around the Waffle House and the HoJo. We didn't see it before, but I remember it was where I had my Volvo towed to when it bit the dust. He does the job quickly and efficiently for a meager $10.

Then we get the tires on my ride, and the next day I schedule an appointment with Merchants to get my alignment checked and the tires balanced. I later find that the car was virtually unscathed, with only the castor suffering a slight whack. It was knocked out by 3/10 of a degree, hardly anything to worry about.

I was lucky. But what about someone else? What if someone blows a fuse and lays stranded on the Interstate? What if a fuel injector or carburetor goes bad and it's unsafe to drive the car? All of these things can happen after the 9-to-5 scamper.

I found plenty of 24-hour towing establishments, but only one 24-hour garage. Tony and I ran across plenty of places that left their doors open and their lights on but wouldn't do any work. I strongly suggest these places get their acts together.

I feel certain they'd have some business. Including people who take turns too sharply in familiar gas stations.