Diet Coke and a Pretzel

I'm always excited to go to Sam's Club in Little Rock. I am still a Costco lover, believe me, but Sam's Club has become lovable too, which is all important because there are no Costcos in Arkansas and I go to Sam's every week, sometimes twice a week, to get the necessary items for the store. Now, I'm not as excited about actually buying the usual laundry list of items as much as I am about buying me a large Diet Coke and dry warm pretzel with mustard afterwards. YUMMY! It's my breakfast on those mornings. It's not very nutritious, I know, but its not that bad either without all the butter and salt. I tell you that when I drive home and cross the beautiful Arkansas river, drinking my DC and eating that pretzel, my day is made.

Well, two Mondays past I start off on the highway toward Little Rock, and mid way to Sam's I notice my car is operating differently and I think, "it might be a flat tire," but I hesitate to pull over thinking, "crazy, paranoid Robin, thinking up problems where none exist." But as I pull over to the very small shoulder, I discover that I, in fact, have a flat rear tire. I call Cody who comes to my rescue. Despite my fear of him being clipped by a Semi, he was able to change the tire without harm.

The whole time Cody sweated to change my tire, I assumed the responsibility of glaring at each driver coming our way as if to say, "pull over to the far lane buddy, I've got precious cargo changing my tire here on the shoulder." Most people obeyed my glaring demand, but some, including some large truckers, seemed to hug the shoulder even more. I hate those people.

As Cody switched keys with me so that I could take his car for the rest of my Sam's Club trip, I pulled away screaming, "Cody - YOU ARE MY HERO!!!". He really is.

I shopped. I got my beloved Pretzel and Diet Coke. And even had a nice, stranger, man who helped me load my groceries in the car. As I went to open my car door, however, I notice it is locked and realize that I left the keys in the back bed. I go to relift the gate and discover that it has spontaneously locked itself up. I call Cody and tell him the pathetic news. I felt like "such a girl".

I tell him to call a locksmith. He said, "my car sometimes does that." I say that that information would have been helpful to know. We laugh a frustrated laugh - you know, the "really?" type of laugh. We hang up. Then the light bulb flashes and I thank my lucky stars that Cody's car is falling apart. You see, his back two windows were tapped up because they were off their track and I figured I could break the tape and enter the car through the back window. One second after breaking into the car, the alarm sounds off and a man, different than the first, starts approaching the car. Now, you all know I love attention, but not the "is this woman stealing that car?" kind of attention. I quickly find the keys and turn off the alarm. The man ended up just asking me if I had an electrical problem with the car and if I needed his help.

On the way back home I was grateful for the following:

-My handy husband, who without complaint, came to my rescue.
-Two helpful gentlemen (AR really has the nicest people), who used the manners they learned here in the South, and the Christian way widely preached here, to help a stranger lady.
-The yummy pretzel and refreshing Diet Coke I partook of as I crossed the river on my way back to Conway...and despite the craziness of my morning, my Sam's snack was still day making.



P.S. Cody's car has been fixed. Not the wearing off paint part, but the two back windows and the windshield that was cracked. So, no more breaking into the car via cutting tape. I better keep my keys close :) But who knew that broken windows could have been a good thing.