The Tale of the Tire

How many cousins does it take to change a tire?

At last count, it was more than seven, with others watching through windows or dropping by to take a photo.

Sunday was a family gathering at the Bell family cabin at Jackson Lake. We had 30 people in attendance as we gathered for some good food and the chance to "shower" a cute young couple who are getting married in August.

Shortly after we arrived, I looked out the kitchen window and all I could see was a flat tire. Looking again, I realized that it was on my truck.

Luckily, I have cousins who are willing to help and some of them even had some experience in changing a tire. Most were gathered around for moral support and made pithy comments like: "yep, it's flat" or "you got a jack?"

So we found the spare, the jack and figured out the instructions and got the tire changed.

By the time I took it to the tire store on Monday and told them the story, it was obvious that they could charge me whatever they wanted because, of course, I had no idea what I was doing.

Embedded in the tire was a strip of metal about 2 inches long and a half inch wide. We must have picked it op on the dirt road, because I didn't feel any problem on any part of the ride south.

My thanks to family members who helped with the project, whether – like me – they knew what they were doing or not.