My car's alternator died in the middle of nowhere on a Tuesday afternoon.

I was about 20 miles outside of Flagstaff when the dash lit up and everything went quiet. Called a tow, which cost me $150, and sat at a gas station for two hours feeling completely stuck. The mechanic said it would be a day for the part, but the guy at the station counter saw me looking miserable and offered me a ride into town. Ended up grabbing a burger at this little diner he suggested, and just talking to someone normal turned the whole thing around. Anyone else have a breakdown that turned out okay because of a random act of kindness?

3 comments

3 Comments

gray_nelson3mo ago

Honestly, getting towed 20 miles and a free burger sounds like a pretty soft landing, even @eva666 is right about the distance. Most breakdowns are just expensive and boring.

eva6663mo ago

Flagstaff is actually about 30 miles from the middle of nowhere in most directions. That burger sounds like it was the real fix for a bad day though.

hill.jade1mo ago

Read somewhere that Flagstaff's elevation actually makes for better breakdown scenery (since you can see forever) which is a small silver lining. @gray_nelson is right though, a free burger definitely softens the blow of a tow bill.