Day 29..."His eye is on the sparrow..."

Day 28…”His Eye Is On The Sparrow…”.

My aunt Aunt Bodie's (Leota Knox) favorite hymn had a line that went, "His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me."  Today I felt for sure that someone was watching over me.  My rear tire was trashed.  A closer inspection revealed it was absolutely unsafe to ride and it was a miracle it didn't blow during the 430 mile drive between Minot, ND, and Havre, MT.  (I don't know where in that drive the damage occurred, but everyone agreed it was not fresh so probably 100 or so miles out?  Just a guess). 

Not everyone can have a 'miracle moment' that is so recognizable, but I had mine on yesterday's ride.  Looking at how close I came to being spread across US Highway 2 really unsettled me.  I could have been killed or severely injured in the blink of an eye.  So today's song is both an homage to my aunt (who was married to my hero, Uncle Murray Knox) and to the sure and certain knowledge that a greater hand than mine was on the tiller yesterday.  His eye is on the sparrow

Today was a day devoted to getting my bike fixed.  A close examination of the tire by a former motorcycle racer and a half dozen people who know about tires showed that I was about one good bounce away from having it catastrophically fail.  At 70-80 MPH things would have been ugly and I'm sure I would have dumped the bike (and myself).  The Good Lord really had his arm around my shoulder yesterday.  And today he sent me angels in the form of a group of used car salesmen.

As Blanche DuBoise said in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, “I’ve always always depended on the kindness of strangers.”  {scene from Streetcar...}  This morning I began the quest for a new motorcycle tire.  I had spoken with my insurance about getting a tow for the bike 300+ miles to the nearest BMW repair facility.  The roadside assistance, though, would try for closer places first.  The first place they had me call was a transmission repair facility…no help.  The second place was closed up and boarded over.   I decided to take matters into my own hands and broke camp and moved to a little motel in the city Havre, MT.  I wanted a base of operations while I got things straightened out with internet connectivity and proximity to food (and out of the ever present wind).  When I got checked in to my motel that offered WiFi connectivity.  I met some gentlemen in the parking lot who were also just checking in.  We talked a little and I showed them the tire on the bike with the cord clearly visible.  They were aghast that I had actually considered trying to limp into the next large city with that cut in the tire.  It might not be suicide, but it would certainly be mega-stupid.  

They had the morning off before they had to show up for work at the local Chevy dealership so they put their heads together and decided to help me.  I called around and found a tire that would fit my bike at a Harley dealership in Great Falls, 120 miles away….now how to get the bike there.   One of the guys I met in the parking lot (David) said, “let’s get a trailer and use my SUV to get it there.”   Wait?  He's willing to drive 250 miles for a guy he just met?  But how do we find a trailer?

When we asked the manager of the motel where we could possibly rent a trailer he said, “there’s a trailer right over there you can use.”  And there it was... a practically new ATV trailer with a built in ramp sitting at the end of the building.

  I said, “great!”. So David and I went to the car parts place across the street to get a receiver hitch for his SUV and some tie-down straps to hold the bike in place.  I had just finished paying for the parts and was explaining to the man behind the counter what we were trying to do and he said, “why don’t you just get the tire shipped here and let the Dodge dealership put it on for you.”   Dodge?   It turns out the local Dodge dealership is also the local Polaris and Yamaha repair facility.  So I went over and, yes, they could mount and balance a tire on a BMW.  I could have the tire FedEx'd to arrive the next day (Wednesday) and they could install it first thing.  No trailer? It was a miracle!

I didn't want to just set on my hands all day waiting for FedEx though, so I called the only place in town that offered a rental car for a dash to Great Falls where I could pick up the tire and get it back more quickly.  I was about to head to the place to rent a car when John, Dave’s boss, said, “don’t do that.  Here, take my car and I’ll ride with David and get the keys back from you this evening.”   Really?  This guy hadn’t even asked me my name and he’s giving me his car to drive 120 miles?  Did I mention that the Good Lord was watching out for me?

And so it happened.  I drove to Great Falls and picked up the new tire.  Then I drove back.  Then I took the bike VERY SLOWLY to the Yamaha dealer.  I’ve kinda compressed the day in the telling of this…and it was about 4PM when I dropped off the bike and got a ride back to the motel.  They were doing to start on it today and finish first thing tomorrow and I’ll be on the road once more with only one day lost and only minimal cost.  A half tank of gas for John's car and a bottle of "adult beverage" for the guys that were so nice to me, a total stranger. 

And would the guys take any money for running me around and loaning me a car? No.  They just said it was up to me to help somebody some day when I didn’t have to.  Say what you will about a degradation in civility and ethics in the US…but I’m here to tell you that kindness, Christian charity, and the spirit of helping those who need help is alive and well as far as I’m concerned.  I will never take this kind of thing for granted again.

Thanks David....

and Thanks John!!