Last night I went to a Lucero concert at a place called Zydico. Zydico is a little dive bar/concert hall in Birmingham, Alabama. They were celebrating there 20th anniversary. Free champagne was given out though the night to show there appreciation. Lucero is one of my fav. band right now. The opening band was Those Darlins, who are creating an underground movement in the alt. county world. This was a making for a great night.
I started off with a few beers at a local bar with my buddy before we headed to the show. When we arrived, Lucero was drinking at a table and we were able to say hello which was very cool. The alcohol began to flow. I was not worried because I had planed ahead of time for my girlfriend to be a ten min. drive away, so that she could drive us the rest of the way home. As the concert progressed, and after many beers and a few glasses of champagne, my buzz began to increase. The concert became better and better with each sip.
When it ended my buddy had his girl pick him up. They tried to persuade me to come home with them but I wanted to sleep in my own bed. I was only buzzed and my DD was only 10 min. away. I started my journey that I wish I could erase. I made it about 5 min. down the road and I received a text message. I took my eyes off the road for less than a second. During that second, I managed to run over an island median with both of my driver side tiers. I immediately knew that one, if not both, were flat. So I pulled into the only thing I could, which was a four star hotel. Not only, were both of my tiers flat but I bent both rims. Nothing could be done. My only choice was to stay at the four star hotel. It ended up costing me over 150 dollars for one night. Not even a full night because I checked in at 2:30 and had to be out by 11! This was only the beginning of the financial cost of drinking a driving.
This morning I woke up in a very nice room with a slight recognition of how I got there. I checked my phone to make sure I called my girlfriend to let her know that I was o.k., which I had. Thank God! I then proceeded to go and check my car. Hoping there was no other damage but the wheels. It was freezing and raining. I put my only spare tire on the front wheel. The back rim was bent but air was still inside. So off I went, with every turn of the back wheel air began to seep. I do not live in Birmingham, so I didn't know of any tire shops. Someone gave me some directions and the first place I saw was closed. The next place only brought more bad news. Tire shops don't keep rims in stock. They said the earliest they could get rims in would be Monday. What could I do? Call my mom. "Mom, I don't know what to do. I'm stranded with a spare and a warped rim". A lecture ensued but she was willing to work with me.
She called around and found one place in the mid to norther Alabama area that was open that sold rims. My mom lives about an hour and a half away from Birmingham. The store that had the rims were 30 min. away in the other direction! Two in a half hours later my mother arrives with two rims, and a bill. It's her way of teaching me responsibility. Two new rims and two new tires coming to about 450 dollars. I think MasterCard could use this in one of there commercials. Learning to never drink and drive, priceless. It could have been worse. I'm alive and I'm not in jail. I'm just broke.
Dec 13, 2009 @ 08:57:35
