I got a flat tire today on the highway on my way to work. Fortunately, I did not have to appear at a hearing or deposition today.

Because it was my driver's side front tire that blew, I pulled off to the left and off the shoulder of the road before stopping in a grass/dirt area, a safe distance from the highway. As I was removing the jack and spare from the trunk, a state trooper pulled up behind me, and lit some road flares, and then explained he had to leave.

I jacked the car and removed the nuts. On my car it still takes a herculean effort to slide the tire off, and in so doing, I realized that the jack was positioned on soft ground, causing the side of it to sink unevenly during my pulling. Consequently, the jack tipped and the car came down on top of it. Moreover, without a tirethe mounting landed on the ground.

I had to dig the jack out from under the car, and when I finally got it out,I had to dig deeperto make enough room for the jack to slide upright under the car. Meanwhile a second stat trooper stopped to keep me company. I raised the front end as high as the jack allowed, but because it was placed in hole(resting on a flat stone I found for spport), the mounting wasn't high enough to allow the spare to be installed. The trooper went to his car to get a steel tool he has for breaking car windows or prying open mangled steel for car accident rescues, and I dug a hole under the mounting to give the spare enough room.

It worked, but I drove away with my suit, shirt and tie, covered in dirt and sweat. It could always have been worse.