so, the call came in.  my poor, sick, sleep-deprived and rattled sister had hit a pothole (what the hell are you doing with my tax dollars, California?) and blew a tire.  she was waiting, on the side of the road, in her leopard print pajamas at 1500 in the afternoon, for Ralph* and AAA.

Dominic was still in his pjs … (new pair after he peed on the couch, duh) … but we had to go rescue Blondie.  we packed up and headed out to Claremont Blvd + 6th to find her.  I think Dominic had fun “looking for mommy on the side of the road because her tire went poof!”  (and yes, I egged him on with the poofed comment … that is what aunties are for!)

after a WTFAY call at Claremont Blvd and Foothill, Dominic and I found Mommy.  I’m not sure how we missed her.  She and Ralph* were on the side of the road, emptying the trunk of the suddenly inoperable Civic in a frenzy as they were trying to release the spare tire aka. POS do-nut tire from the bowels of the car.  it was a sight.  thank goodness Ralph* had some empty boxes in his truck so they could gather all of the obviously important and signed documents that had been abandoned like 2 years earlier by, well, we’ll call him Mr. Brady.  my poor sister looked like she was going to collapse.  oh, and she had a ‘frig in that truck too.  i know it wasn’t appropriate, but that made me laugh.

so, Ralph* and I sent her home with Dominic and we waited for AAA to arrive.

Omar, from AAA, was able to make the car drivable, despite the fact that Ralph* fought him every step of the way.  Omar was a saint.  Are you supposed to tip those guys?  I wasn’t sure of the protocol, but Omar got a tip.  I’m sure he’ll never forget changing that tire with Ralph* breathing down his neck.

so, I, aka Speedball Tucker, got to drive the Civic with the do-nut.  okay, the story has a happy ending and the Civic wound up with all new shoes, but seriously, who let’s a known speeder drive a car with a do-nut for a kick?  i wasn’t sure of the rules, but i think you can go up to 55 on those shoes, so i stayed on side-streets and there was no further malfeasance with that ride.

after the tire situation had been resolved, i headed over to the hospital to see the cutest patient in the 909.  poor little Sassafras, she was SO ready to go home (who could blame her?) but she was trying to be brave.  i cannot express in words how awful it was to see her in the hospital.  i hope it never happens again.  we hung out and watched “full house;” it was like Kim and I got to relive our youth a little with that show.  who doesn’t love uncle joey?  Sophia was so good; not one peep out of that kid.  Model patient.

I left the hospital, rescuing my car from the 909 Valut, and I think James and I finally ate dinner at 2100.  and of course, Sir Dominic was running around like a madman, not understanding the correlation between his super high activity level and his bouts of trying to expel phlegm from his bod.  hats off to my sister and brother-in-law, i do not know how they do it.  now, if we could bottle and sell that energy, well, someone else could be writing this entry for me.  🙂

sophia was released the next day … 1/17/13.  i think she may have kissed the family room floor when she got home she was so excited.  poor kid.  she is a trooper.

as for the rest of the family, Dominic was sick for a few more days, although he managed (i don’t know how) not to be admitted to the hospital.  Kim got sick too, but somehow James stayed healthy.  it looks like the Sinks are out of the woods, but Aunt Juju is on call, at least in her mind, until those kids go off to college.

*some of the names have been changed due to a personal preference of specific people to remain off of the grid.