It was too hot today

So last Friday morning I came outside to discover the front passenger tire on the Bronco was as flat as a pancake. I didn't have time to get it fixed before I left, so I sponged Toni's Tuscon for a few days until I got time to get it fixed, which was today. I immediately ran into a few problems. The biggest (and only) jack I have lifts two tons. The Bronco weighs in at three tons. Additionally, it sits higher off the ground than my Jeep did. I was barely able to get the Bronco up high enough to squeeze the flattened tire off before I realized that I'd never be able to get it back on without a beefier jack. I managed to borrow a 3 1/2 ton from the Bronco's original owner and find a used tire in Justin for $20, which was cheap enough for me to get two, which means I finally have a spare tire, though it's larger and heavier then the one I have around my gut. Hah - I made a fat joke.

While I was rolling around in the dirt and sweating buckets from the blazing hot sun and trying to muscle those big ol' tires onto the axle and the spare tire bracket (which is at chest level), I did wish (for a moment) that I had little car (like a Civic or a Neon or even a Fiat) with teeny little tires, teeny little ground clearance, and that used a teeny little jack. It makes me think of my Dad, who's into his 70's and can outwork anybody I know, especially me. I have also never seen him back down from a task or fail to complete it, which I think is a great quality I try to emulate whenever I can. It's a tall task but I think I'm getting better at it. I think I picked up my work ethic from him, though I never really recall him talking to me about it.

I'm not looking forward to buying my own 3 1/2 ton jack, but I think I can score one for cheap at a pawn shop. It's probably something I'm going to need anyway, like an arc welder, a grinding wheel, an artesian well, an 8 foot concrete wall topped with concertina wire and a grenade launcher, which I ask for every Christmas but never actually get. Really - is this too much to ask for?

Anyway, that's all I have today. We just ate some Chinese food (which we haven't done in a while) and now we're going to watch "The Phantom of the Opera" - the good version.

Still 523, because it's still Monday.