Depressing news is depressing

so how about some 5.11 Utilikilt and truck problems blogging instead?

Yesterday my 2 youngest daughters went to the regional marching band competition.  I told my daughters I would wear my kilt to the event but they scoffed at the idea.

Haven't they figured out yet a parents job is to embarrass their kids relentlessly?

Me wearing my 5.11 Tactical Utilikilt in black.

This is just before I went over to really embarrass my flautist senior daughter getting her senior band pics.  I had to flash some knee.

Flashing some knee

 You can see in the background my kids band.  They were the only band to march "Military" at the competition.  All the other bands actually pay for a marching program and costumes which can get rather flashy.

My daughter's band on the risers getting their picture taken.

After getting their pics taken the band all loaded up into bus's and head to a local eating establishment to have lunch and play some arcade games.  The lunch and the band's new uniforms were paid for by the Band Booster Club, not the school district, which once again slashed the fine arts budget which includes the band.  But the district paid for the athletics departments new uniforms.  Hmmm which do you think the district supports more?  The athletics teams that always choke at the critical juncture or the fine arts/band program that goes to state competition EVERY year for the last 8 years.

While following the bus's with the kids to the restaurant, one of the bus's pulled off due to a miscommunication, I pulled off as well as they pulled over was a bad place to pull off because off the off ramp.  While sitting there with my hazards on some person in a car driving by decided to throw something out their window.  I now have no back window on my truck.

The now broken back window on my truck

So we ate with the kids.  I used my netbook to watch part of the video that we took of the kids.  And the kids had a good time until it was time to head back.

So my ex-wife and I loaded up in the truck and because of the window being broken we decided to head back home.

That was the plan anyway.

We had just driven on to the harbor bridge when I heard "the sound"  You know the sound you hear right before your tire blows out?  I got into the right hand lane and hit my hazard lights right then the tire blew.  I was already slowing down because I heard the wop wop wop sound, but I was already on the bridge past any on ramp to try to get off and no shoulder.

I was going slow only 10 miles per hour with my hazards on and I was praying. "Please let me get over the bridge safely so I don't tie it up and cause anyone problems.  Several vehicles that were behind me were flashing their lights and honking at me, but I just kept going praying the tire would stay on the rim and not wrap around the axle or tear out the brake lines.  Right then in answer to my prayer a Corpus Christi Police Officer pulled behind me maintaining his distance with his rear flashers going to warn traffic.  and about 20 seconds after that a second officer pulled up behind the first.  By that time I was in the very middle of the bridge and it was all down hill.  I kept praying that the tire would stay on the rim enough to get off the bridge.  The truck  shimmied a bit but I could feel that the tire was still on.  I slowed down to 5 miles per hour and kept on going.  I kept praying as we drove down the other side of the bridge and started looking for a safe place to pull off that wouldn't endanger either myself or anyone else trying to change it and would be well enough off the highway.  At the foot of the bridge there is an exit for the beach and the various restaurants, hotels and the U.S.S. Lexington aircraft carrier.  And there was a shoulder.  A good shoulder about 18 feet wide.  I carefully pulled off onto that should far enough down it so the police officer could pull up behind me without endangering him, as I figured I would be getting a ticket or at least have my information checked out.  I got out of the truck still wearing my kilt, the officer did a double take and asked me if I was ok.  I told him I was.  He then asked if I wanted a wrecker.  I told I didn't think so.  So he and the other officer conferred briefly then asked if I would be ok.   I told them I would be alright and they pulled off back to their jobs.

Then I looked at the tire

The tire that blew

Looking at that tire, I KNOW, that the Lord had a hand in me getting over that bridge.  I KNOW, that the Lord sent those 2 officers to assist me.  I KNOW that the Lord was watching over me.  That tire, the sidewalls are totally separated from the tread.  There is no way I should have been able to get off that bridge without destroying the rim and possibly damaging the truck's brake lines.  The Lord helped me yesterday.

The sidewall and tread are completely separated.

That tread should have wrapped around the axle, damaging the brake lines and binding the wheel, making it so I couldn't drive.  It didn't.  It stayed around the rim, allowing me to get off the bridge, and it didn't even damage the rim.

Many people, mostly those who don't believe in a higher power will say it's just chance that this happened the way it did.  Just coincidence that two police officers were right there to assist me.  Looking at that tire, looking at how the tread and the sidewall are not connected to each other at all, and yet they still stayed together to let me get off the bridge.  I KNOW the Lord stepped in to help me.

There will be many people who will take what I have written about my beliefs and say I'm stupid and that it's just chance that this happened the way it did.  They will poke fun at me and say I'm stupid or nuts for my beliefs.  All I will say is that the Lord only asks that you believe in him.  And if you believe in him he will extend his hand over you.  He doesn't even require you to believe in him to extend his protection to you.  He only asks you to.  And there will be some who say "What about all the people who are killed each day?"  I don't claim to know the Lords mind, and at the same time I am not privy to his plans.

So I ask, don't disparage my beliefs, and I won't disparage yours.

Simple common courtesy.

Do you have it?