do you hear some outside air

A couple of Fridays back, Maura and I were coming out of the pet store when she noticed that Super Lumina’s passenger side rear tire was looking a bit sickly. I’m inclined as a general habit to pooh-pooh such observations, as Super Lumina has a heavy frame and a heavy engine, and there’s a noticeable give where the rubber hits the road even on a new set of properly inflated tires. This time was the real deal, though, and explained why the car’s stability while cornering had been getting progressively wonkier over the previous month or so.

I gave the tire in question a thorough going over to see if I could find any visible punctures or damage, but came up empty. Suspecting the awful truth, but hoping for the best, I stopped at the Citgo station down the block and got the tire back to its proper PSI level. The next two weeks were a waiting game; nothing seemed to happen at first, and I was ready to chalk it up to “one of those things” that come with car ownership. Then, last Sunday, I did a spot check and the tire was looking as bad, if not worse, than it did two weeks previous.

Again hoping against reality, I went back to the Citgo air pump. The leak appeared to be a slow one, and I figured that I could play for time until my next scheduled vacation. It was not to be. I just took a quick look out the living room window and the tire is about as flat as it can get while still being drivable on.

Damn it. I knew I was due for a new set of tires, and I’m always up for a day off work, but I hate having the issue decided for me, with a massive last minute shuffling of priorities (not to mention the not-insignificant cash outlay involved).

Johnny London – Flat Tire (from The Complete Sun Singles, Vol. 1, 1994) – I think we can make it to the juke joint on the bare rim if we all lean to one side.

Albert King – Flat Tire (from I Wanna Get Funky, 1974) – In which a veteran bluesman feels my pain, and knows how to make it dissipate.

The Adverts – On Wheels (from Crossing the Red Sea with The Adverts, 1978) – “On Borrowed Wheels” in my case, as my grandma has lent me her rather boxy Olds Cutlass until I can get my car out of the shop. It’s not a bad car, but it’s two weight classes below Super Lumina, and despite sporting only a four-cylinder engine, its mass-to-power ratio makes it feel like it’s going to leap out from under me every time I feather the gas pedal.