Baby Needs Booties

I was only trying to stretch out expenses...but after the third flat tire, my mechanic over at Mercer Automotive pointed out that my problems were not going to go away. My tires, although replaced within the past three years, had evidence of dry rot.

That was when I first heard that tire retailers were not required to disclose the age of supposedly "new" tires they were selling to consumers. The prevailing attitude in the industry was that tires did not "go bad".

Maybe tires don't spoil like potato salad on a summer day, but they do age and respond to the way they are stored. Tires are subject to weathering influences like heat and sunshine.

In recent times consumers have raised the issue about the quality of the product at the eventual time of purchase. Since the year 2000, the US Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires that tires be branded in a code that identifies the manufacturing location, tire size, manufacturer's code, and most importantly...the week and year the tire was manufacturered.

The last four digits of the tire identification number are two digits identifying the week the tire was made, the next two digits are the year. Therefore: 1406 would be code for the fourteenth week of the year 2006. A tire made Valentine week of this year would be branded 0810 because February 14 falls on the eighth week of 2010.

Armed with this trivia, I gathered my tire ads and finally called about the Memorial Day sale at one of our local retailers. The chap who answered the phone told me the sale would carry into June. Wonderful. That meant that I could spread the costs over two months of Social Security income.

I presented myself this week to the BF Goodrich dealer and asked if the sale was still on. I was fascinated by the personable redheaded young man who was taking my order and I commented on his extravagant tattoos. My grandson has a huge EMT tattoo on his forearm, but it still takes me aback because, jeepers guys, it is permanent. The tech waiting on the person next to me commented to my clerk,

"Careful, George, or those tattoos might chase her off!" We all had a chuckle at George's expense and then I sat down to wait for the car.

I read a couple of articles in ESPN and then picked up the trusty Trentonian. I had only gotten to the comics when they told me my car was finished. Wow, was that fast. So I picked up my keys and headed out the door.

You know when you leave your car at valet parking, sometimes it seems as though it was visited by an alien. Your seat is moved, the mirrors are different, once a coffee cup I left in the holder was spilled all over my carpet because the valet parking it did not know how to drive a stick shift and he jerked the clutch all over the place. Well this time...my change was even left in the coin holder at the base of my shifter.

How 'bout that. Not only was the car done in a very professional manner, speedy and clean, but it has been a long time since my Aldi quarters were safe in the hands of a stranger.

Way to go, R.W.Tire, Route 206 Bordentown! Way to go, George! I suggest, if you want to put them in your contact list, they have an email: rwtire@aol.com. and their phone is 609-298-1011. :)

People rock!