So there I was. On the side of the
Plenty Highway with a flat tyre, and night approaching quickly. Me, myself and I. The vehicle was loaded to the gills with gear for a remote trip into the
Gibson desert.
I knew that huge trucks might not see me in the dark, and was wary of staying here any longer than I had to. Unwinder out, slot into spare tyre winder(I would have loved to have had Mr Toyota along at that moment to tell him exactly what I thought about that spare tyre placement),and gazooks ! It's not moving at all ! Try a bit both ways, nope. The spare is not going anywhere at all.
A couple of fellas that I'd waved to earlier slow down and stop. I notice one is much younger than the other, and is wearing a kind of glove with the ends of the fingers cut off so that the ends of his fingers are showing but the hand is covered. Steptoe style.
They enquire what the trouble is.
When told, the
young one crawls under the spare, and the older one enquires what I'm selling.
Selling ? Nothing. Or is this some kind of secret code I'm oblivious to? He susses me out thoroughly, with a thoughtful expression.
The
young one sees the problem, gear all fouled with rocks.
A few mts later and he has the spare out and ready.
The older one asks again what I'm selling.
Thanks guys, I'll take it from here. No, where's your jack?
Quick as a wink he has the offending tyre off and the spare installed.
"What are you selling?" asks the old guy insistently.
"Listen mate, I'm not selling anything. I'm just the poor tired cow stuck on the side of the road with a crook tyre !"
"Ahhhhh" That obviously does it.
Ready to roll, I ask them what I owe them for their kind assistance.
"Nothing...we enjoy the exercise"...they don't have an ounce of excess fat on them...unlike myself.
"Oh come on, how about some beer money then?" I insist.
"Naaah, plenty of beer back at the station."
The
young bloke smiles a winning smile and says, "there is something you could do for us."
"Just name it, pal."
"You could tell us what you're selling."
Salt of the earth those station types.
I had the tyre repaired in Alice the next day. It lasted 50km up the Tanami before it blew again.
But being out in the bush for too long can do things to you, I rekkon.