A lifesaver

Dawn broke on Saturday as the girls were packed into the car and the trip to San Antonio was on. Our youngest wanted to go back to SeaWorld for her birthday. The girls were happy I was going because I missed out on the trip last month when we were in San Antonio for the Rusty Duncan seminar.

Now, over the last few months the hydraulic system operating the clutch has been acting up. At first the clutch pedal would lose pressure for a day or two at a time and then work fine for a couple of months. Over the past month the problems have come and gone much more often. In fact, over the last month I've had to bleed the slave cylinder more frequently.

I last bled the cylinder the day before we left on our trip. I knew I would have to replace the master cylinder once we got back. Unfortunately the hydraulics didn't agree. After making a pit stop near Seguin the pedal lost pressure. As we got near SeaWorld the problem got worse. Instead of pulling into the park we went just down the road to a hospital parking lot so I could bleed the cylinder.

Unfortunately I torqued the bleeder screw just a bit too much and the screw sheared off. Oops.

The security guard I flagged down told me there was a Firestone just a few miles away on Culebra. I made the phone call and arranged for a wrecker to take the car. While we waited I walked my wife and girls toward SeaWorld and I went back to the car to meet the wrecker driver.

After he put the car on the hook I called Firestone to let them know the car was on its way and that we needed it fixed that day. I told the adviser that both the master and slave cylinders would need to be replaced. I then headed back to SeaWorld to hook up with the family.

The next few hours were spent going down waterslides and riding roller coasters -- and checking with Firestone every couple of hours to check on the progress of the car.

Finally I got the call I was waiting for -- the car was ready. But now I had to figure out how to get there. And that's when this story takes a happy turn. The manager sent one of employees to SeaWorld to pick me up at the main gate.

I regret to say I never did get the names of the people at Firestone I dealt with but I can say that they made a bad situation bearable. They certainly didn't have to send someone out to pick me up. I was prepared to call a cab to get over there.

At a little past seven o'clock I rolled into the parking lot and met back up with my wife and girls.

So, to anyone reading this who works at the Firestone on Culebra near 1604 in San Antonio -- thank you for going above and beyond the call last Saturday.