All small talk stopped when the driver’s front tire blew out on our travel van. This past weekend my husband and I were driving to Santa Fe to attend the Sunday portion of Indian Market. There was a loud zipping noise and strong jerking of the van as we attempted to pass an 18-wheeler. My husband slowed the van and pulled over onto the shoulder of I-40. We were 12 miles from the New Mexico border West of Amarillo, Texas in 102-degree heat with our two black cocker spaniels. Life felt like it had just turned South.
Fortunately, we were safe, had a cell phone, had cell phone signal, and our AAA towing card. Three hours later my husband, our two dogs and I were towed for an hour back to Amarillo. By now it was late Saturday afternoon. New tires would not be available until in the morning. Yes, Firestone is open on Sunday morning in Amarillo, Texas in case you ever need to know. Another good thing to know is that all La Quinta Inns allow dogs to stay at little or no extra charge. One other thing, Pizza Planet in Amarillo makes a pretty darn good pizza and they will deliver it to your hotel/motel room for $1.50. One last thing, allow at least a one hour wait if you call a taxi for a ride in Amarillo.
Sunday morning, with four new tires (the spare tire was not the right size for our custom van- that problem will be addressed when we get home and talk with the car dealer) we headed toward Santa Fe again.
After we had traveled about 25 minutes, I heard the now familiar sound of a tire blowing out and smelled the nasty smell of burning rubber. I pulled onto the shoulder of I-40. Yep. We had blown one of the new tires. Fortunately, again, we were safe, and had cell phone signal. We called Firestone to request assistance. “You have to be kidding,” was the response on the other end of the phone. “Kidding? No, we’re not kidding. Will you please send someone to come haul us back to Amarillo.” One hour later, the van was being cranked onto the bed of the second wrecker.
While the van was being hoisted onto the wrecker and as we watched for snakes, the dogs and I walked in the grass along the side of the interstate. While we walked, I realized I had my travel camera in the purse I had on my arm. I decided to take a photograph of the van and second wrecker. I stopped walking, told the dogs to sit and took the snapshot. I turned around and noticed the field of windmills on the North side of I-40. We had driven past this area countless times at 70 or so miles an hour with me thinking every time, I would really like to get a shot of that. I had pulled onto the shoulder of the interstate at a place where the modern white windmills were a backdrop for a much older wooden model. I chuckled to myself and thought, “Well, this is a chance to create in the middle of things.”
I began studying the windmills. I might not take the greatest photographs I had ever taken as my favorite camera and tripod were in the back of the now hoisted van, the dogs had started pulling on their leashes in an attempt to get into the wrecker they assumed was air conditioned and I was still a bit rattled by the events of the last 33 hours. I did, however, give myself credit for having the presence of mind to think about creating in the middle of things. This allowed me a distraction, helped me refocus my mind, took my mind off of our troubles for a little while and provided me a personal lesson on the importance of creating while life is happening. It is wonderful to have the luxury of time to photograph when and where we plan and have everything go just as expected. We all know, however, that those moments are hard to come by. This photo-opportunity also reminded me it is so very important that we nurture and encourage our creativity each day even when things get weird and wild. Our creativity is an amazing tool that can help us solve problems, keep our sense of humor and keep us connected to our life in the present moment.
We all piled into the wrecker and headed back to Amarillo. After a couple of hours, by now time had lost a lot of its linear concept, we got back onto I-40 and headed West toward Santa Fe. All hope of getting to Indian Market had vanished for this year. We had adjusted our hopes to include staying safe, getting to Santa Fe by midnight and sleeping in our own Santa Fe bed, even if we found Goldilocks and the Three Bears in it.
We had lived through Ground Hog Day in Amarillo and were grateful to be on our way again.
I did ask my husband if he would be willing to stop about 10 miles West of Amarillo to check the tire pressure. That would put us across the interstate from where the Cadillac cars are half-buried in a field South of I-40. I had thought for years about stopping and photographing those spray-painted, half-buried Cadillac cars as we zizzed by at 70 and then some miles an hour. If something else went wrong and we had to be towed back to Amarillo, we would be stopped at a place where I would have something else to photograph while we waited for the wrecker. My husband didn’t respond. Somehow I think he did not believe I was being serious or funny.
"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Albert Einstein
Hmmm. I wonder if Albert Einstein ever tried to drive through Amarillo.
