One-way Trip to Angelo... And Back.

My car is my home; the road is my companion. Until that blown tire. Now my car feels like a dead-weight mortgage and the tow truck driver my new bestie.

When I could not find the spare tire anywhere in, on, or under the car I called our insurance company and asked them to send a tow truck. An hour later, Michael - my new best friend - arrived, picked up the Z and I, and drove us to the nearest town of Cisco. Cisco has three car repair shops and Michael and I visited all three before I found a used tire in the the right size.

I then found the spare tire.

It was hidden in the side of the car... very hard to see. It was deflated to save space, so it wouldn't have done me any good anyway. The canned air next to it was old and rusted with a label that was peeling off.

I later found a new can of tire-inflating air in a different hiding spot. But that was days later, after I dropped my USB thumb drive behind the passenger seat and went digging for it.

Back on the road, I took a different route from Abilene to San Angelo, through Balinger and cotton country. This section of two-lane highway feels like America. Good ole boys in duely* ranch trucks generously move to the shoulder, allowing faster drivers to cruise around them. It is customary to give a little wave through your back windshield. A small gesture of thanks left-over from cowboy code.

A strange phenomenon happened as I sped along these country roads at twilight. God started talking to me. How did I know it was really Him speaking? He signed his name, of course. Plain as midday sun, readable as black and white letters, he said: "If you're going to swear, use your own name." ~God.

Good one, God. I get it. Touche. And then, a few miles farther, he spoke to me again. This time the message was less jovial and more inspirational. He said: "Don't worry about the future; I've already been there." ~God.

Wow. Just like John Connor. Unlike John Connor, though, God has a marketing budget and his media booking agent, apparently, is The Baptist Church.

I guess that's all God had to say to me that day. The awkward silence at the end of conversation was replaced by my other new best friend, Sirius XMU satellite radio. Here's a sampling of some of my favorites:

Santigold: "Shove It"

The Rapture: "No Sex for Ben"

The Thermals: "Now We Can See"

Neko Case: "This Tornado Loves You"

*The term "duely" refers to pick-up trucks with a set of duel rear tires.