Voice of Will: Two Flat Tires

2005-05-01 - 1:57 p.m.
so what are the odds of a bus travelling from Zhengzhou to xinzheng of having 2 flat tires on the 40 mile trip? Pretty good, obviously (I bet you guessed that one eh?)

so here I am having gone to zhengzhou to pick up an "urgent" package (it was books, not sure where urgent comes from for books), and I have to be back at xinzheng by 3 pm. I get on the bus at the bus station at 1:30, no big deal. I'll make it in plenty of time. the trip usually takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes (especially when they stop and troll for more fares on the way), but I can make it back easily.

We have been driving for about 10 minutes when we hear and feel the "WUMP, WUMP, WUMP, WUmp, wump" as the bus slows down. The driver gets out and stares at his shredded tire for 10 minutes. Just standing there, staring at it. he leaves. No one gets off the bus, so I hang out. 30 minutes later he comes back with a jack, and a tire iron. And I think to myself, this is going to be a long day. He gets the tire off in 10 minutes, and again leaves. 30 minutes go by.

so now it is 2:45 ish, and I'm a little peeved, but no one else is complainign in chinese, and no one has left the bus, so I have been reading my book that was "urgent" (trust me, it isn't urgent). So we get another tire on the bus and we are leaving at 3 pm. Ok, so I'm an hour and a half late (we should get to xinzheng by 4:30). Ok great we are on the move again.

We get about 20 miles outside of town, right between xinzheng and zhengzhou, and you guessed it. BAMMM we just blow the back tire. WTF!!!

And of course the driver didn't keep the jack, so off he goes again to get another jack, and another tire.
Luckly for us, the used tire shop was just about a mile down the road. So they came back with a used tire, and a jack so this wait was 50 minutes, not an hour. So we stop at the used tire shop, and the driver decides to change his other two tires for two used tires taht look worse.
I start thinking to myself, I am so outta here if this bus blows another tire. Still no one has left this bus, nor are they complaining. amazing.

Well we made it to xinzheng without blowing another tire. grrrr. get on the bus at 1:30 in the afternoon, get into xinzheng at 5:30. a 1 and a half hour bus trip takes 4 hours.
Well I did see some very interesting and beatutiful things as I was waiting testing my patience.

1. A very very old man pushing his old wife in a home made wheelchair. Using bicycle wheels, and a wooden chair attached to an axle. It appeared homemade. It was so tragic, my heart went out to them, but when the wife looked up at her husband, you could see the love on her face. It was beautiful.

2. a motorcycle rally (sort of) with lots of 3 wheeled motorcycle carts. it was very colorful, and on a stretch of the road that was surrouned by green trees. Interesting, colorful.

Will