Thursday night we went to pick up F from MIAT.
We arrived at 2200. But we left at almost midnight. What was I doing two hours in MIAT? Changing the tires of the car, that’s what.
After everyone was secure aboard 10 minutes after our arrival (Irfan was fast asleep in the back seat, head on Emma’s lap and legs on F’s lap, or was it the other way around) I drove out of the college parking lot. After we went over the first speed bump, we heard a reciprocating clunking sound from the port aft quarter of the car.
I stopped the car in front of the bus garage and discovered that not only the tire was flat, but it had came off the rim. Nothing to do but get the car ready for a tire change.
There were problems. One, the nuts were shielded by a cover that was held onto the rim by an allen key, and the allen keys in the trunk seemed to have disappeared. So Emma and F went back to the college to ask to borrow one from these students of aviation technology. Surely the second year students and above would have some handy. When they returned it appeared none of them had one. How can this be? I remember as an aviation student we were proud our tools and technical skills.
Two, not one student that went by stopped to even ask for help from a guy and his family who were trying to change a tire in the middle of the night under bad lighting conditions. Not a single one. Which only strengthened my resolve to teach here so I can kick these students’ collective asses. (Did I mention that my former colleague from the previous post is planning to offer our services as rotorcraft instructors?)
So there was nothing we could do except get the spare up and running. We discovered a twisted piece of sharp metal sticking out of the flat tire. And the allen key was provided by the school’s facility supervisor. Ain, Emma and F all helped. Irfan thankfully slept through it all in the cool evening air.
It was way after midnight when we reached home, and I fell asleep trying to dream of kicking aviation students’ asses.
Impact, soft but firm. It would be satisfying.
