In Halifax, a car is next to useless. In Yorkton, it’s a lifeline.
I lived in the ‘Fax (as we cool kids call it) for five years. In that time, I relied exclusively on public transportation and my two feet. It could be hard, particularly during the winter when the snow reached my waist, but it was better than the car-owner lifestyle.
Downtown Halifax is not built for vehicles. The streets are cramped and many roads have bike lanes, which only makes things tighter. When you’re driving in Halifax, you’re constantly worried about ploughing into absent-minded cyclists and pedestrians. Whenever I complained about walking, I remembered my vehicle-owning friends’ endless battle with gridlock and I’d shut my mouth.
But Saskatchewan is a different game. When I applied at Yorkton This Week, they told me I needed a car. It’s a necessity.
Because I’ve spent so much time with my car, I’ve arrived at an important conclusion: I know absolutely nothing about vehicles.
I mean, I can drive them (forwards and backwards!), park them, all that jazz. But when it comes to vehicle upkeep, maintenance, and general knowledge, I’m an automotive idiot.
Last month, I was driving with some friends to a corn maze (as you’ll recall in my life-changing column from a few weeks ago). We were winding down a dirt road when we heard a loud “POP.” We pulled over to investigate.
Armed with flashlights, we surveyed the vehicle. There it was, like a gruesome crime scene from a brutal episode of CSI: A busted back tire.
It was completely flat. Something had ripped a huge hole in the tire. We needed to replace it.
Luckily, the driver had a spare tire, a lug wrench, and a car jack. Sadly, we had no clue what to do.
Some people took to YouTube to research the best method. I did the most important job: I held the flashlight.
Thankfully, a passing driver saved us from our incompetence. She had just replaced her own tire, so she was an expert. She grabbed the lug wrench, tore off the flat tire, and screwed in the spare one. She did in 10 minutes what none of us could do in 20.
See how I did nothing in that story? That’s because I was completely lost. I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t dealt with a flat tire before, so I’d never learned how to handle it. Automotive idiocy strikes again.
At least I learned something. Afterwards, I bought a car jack, so I’ll be ready for the next perilous situation. I might even be able to change a tire on my own. Who knows? I eagerly await the next car crisis/learning opportunity.
