Karma, Good And Bad.

[BillyShaft]

Every time I see or hear a reference to "Karma", it reminds me of this story...

My wife and I had been vacationing in Yosemite and were driving home to Los Angeles on the interstate near Fresno.

We had the RX300 and it was loaded up with camping and hiking junk, and we also had our mountain bikes stuffed inside the RX because we didn't have a bike rack for the hitch. Basically we are fully loaded front to back, bottom to top.

As usual, the RX is eating up road and we are comfy and safe, enjoying the trip back and looking forward to recovering from our strenuous vacation of hiking and biking.

We pull off the interstate to get some gas, and while filling up, I see an older American sedan pull in and the right-rear tire is on the rim. "Man, that sucks" I think to myself, and turn my attention back to the task at hand. I finish filling up and cleaning the windshield and wait a moment while the wife finishes her "potty stop" and the inevitable shopping excursion.

I again look up and notice the sedan with a flat, and now the driver is out of the car to evaluate the situation and is helping his wife out of the car for her to look as well.

The couple is an older black couple, age hard to tell. Certainly they are in their late 60's, possibly as old as 80's. They are dressed to the nines. The gentleman is wearing an older suit with vest, stick pin and french cuffs with links. His wing-tips glisten from across the lot. His wife is wearing a nice dress and clunky heels, she is fully accessorized with delicate gloves and a hat with a short veil around the brim and a small clutch. I think you get the point: a nicely dressed elderly couple, obviously headed to some event or another and now stranded by a flat.

My wife was finally getting belted in and stowing her payload of candy, gum and soda. I looked over and told her we were going to be a few minutes. I pulled up to the couple and their sedan and jumped out to give them a hand.

I mean really...everyone would stop under these circumstances, right? I got out and introduced myself to the gentleman, shook his hand and asked him if I could change his tire for him. He initially said he would be able to do it, and I assured him I was sure he could do it too, but insisted that he simply wasn't dressed for the occasion. :) He agreed with that, laughed and thanked me while helping me find the spare and tools. The spare is at about 5 PSI, of course, because it hasn't seen the light of day in 20 years, so I rolled it over to the 50 cent air dispenser and filled it up.

During the tire change, my wife is talking to his wife and apparently they are headed to one of their granddaughter's wedding and are actually running a bit late. I kick up the tire change pace a bit and we get them ready to go. I am filthy from the task, but that is to be expected, right? Better me than him. Tire change complete.

They are grateful and he tries to hand me $5. I wave the tip away, apologize that I can't shake his hand because I am so filthy and wish them a happy event and good luck. The couple pile into their car and head off to the wedding.

Here is where Karma kicks in:

As we pull onto the highway, my wife tells me she is proud that I stopped to help the couple and I brush it off telling her that my tire change karma account is full-up for the foreseeable future. :D

I am sure most of you know what I am talking about here and can relate. Service to others and charitable giving is its' own benefit. I served in the submarine service, I give blood regularly, annually we support the Marines and their awesome Toys for Tots program and my wife is a director for a major national charity...we know what giving feels like and frankly it feels good.

Anyway, we get into traffic and roll up to my standard 80-85mph highway cruise speed. We are talking about how people used to get dressed up to fly on airplanes and to go out to dinner back in the old days the elderly couple were from. Bla bla bla, just small talk you know, and it starts to happen.

I start to hear a rapid tick-tick-tick noise from the rear of my RX...

I check the mirrors and look to see if I am dragging something...nope. The noise is becoming a bit more insistent: tack-tack-tack! Right now, I am passing a tractor-trailer, but I get around him and lift slightly to prepare to pull over and see what the hell is going on with my car.

As I am checking my right mirror, the noise becomes more of a thup-thup-thup and then BLAM! The right-rear tire disintegrated and I actually saw the tread fly up off the back of the car and bounce along the highway. Luckily I was already slowing down and I quickly got myself off the side of the highway.

I had never seen a tire come apart quite so completely in my life!

Thanks Karma! I figured I would dodge the flat tire bullet for several years at least, but only managed to make it about 8 miles. Grrr.

To add insult to injury, I had to totally unload the packed RX so I could get to the spare, change it out, and then repack the car with all our junk. It was a 45 minute ordeal on the side of the interstate...and how many people stopped? Not a one. :(

Thats OK, I was glad to help regardless, but from that day forward any reference to "Karma" reminds me of this story and I smile.

Sorry for the long post! Anyone else have a Karma story?

[jcrome04]

Wow... no one stopped? They never do...

Sorry to hear! But glad you were able to fix it up yourself :)

[BillyShaft]

Wow... no one stopped? They never do...

Sorry to hear! But glad you were able to fix it up yourself :)

Yea, maybe that's a good thing tho! Maybe I looked fully capable of handling my Beverly Hillbillies situation with all our possessions piled on the side of the highway. :D

[Randy&Bonnie]

..

[Randy&Bonnie]

..

[Threadcutter]

Every time I see or hear a reference to "Karma", it reminds me of this story...

My wife and I had been vacationing in Yosemite and were driving home to Los Angeles on the interstate near Fresno.

We had the RX300 and it was loaded up with camping and hiking junk, and we also had our mountain bikes stuffed inside the RX because we didn't have a bike rack for the hitch. Basically we are fully loaded front to back, bottom to top.

As usual, the RX is eating up road and we are comfy and safe, enjoying the trip back and looking forward to recovering from our strenuous vacation of hiking and biking.

We pull off the interstate to get some gas, and while filling up, I see an older American sedan pull in and the right-rear tire is on the rim. "Man, that sucks" I think to myself, and turn my attention back to the task at hand. I finish filling up and cleaning the windshield and wait a moment while the wife finishes her "potty stop" and the inevitable shopping excursion.

I again look up and notice the sedan with a flat, and now the driver is out of the car to evaluate the situation and is helping his wife out of the car for her to look as well.

The couple is an older black couple, age hard to tell. Certainly they are in their late 60's, possibly as old as 80's. They are dressed to the nines. The gentleman is wearing an older suit with vest, stick pin and french cuffs with links. His wing-tips glisten from across the lot. His wife is wearing a nice dress and clunky heels, she is fully accessorized with delicate gloves and a hat with a short veil around the brim and a small clutch. I think you get the point: a nicely dressed elderly couple, obviously headed to some event or another and now stranded by a flat.

My wife was finally getting belted in and stowing her payload of candy, gum and soda. I looked over and told her we were going to be a few minutes. I pulled up to the couple and their sedan and jumped out to give them a hand.

I mean really...everyone would stop under these circumstances, right? I got out and introduced myself to the gentleman, shook his hand and asked him if I could change his tire for him. He initially said he would be able to do it, and I assured him I was sure he could do it too, but insisted that he simply wasn't dressed for the occasion. :) He agreed with that, laughed and thanked me while helping me find the spare and tools. The spare is at about 5 PSI, of course, because it hasn't seen the light of day in 20 years, so I rolled it over to the 50 cent air dispenser and filled it up.

During the tire change, my wife is talking to his wife and apparently they are headed to one of their granddaughter's wedding and are actually running a bit late. I kick up the tire change pace a bit and we get them ready to go. I am filthy from the task, but that is to be expected, right? Better me than him. Tire change complete.

They are grateful and he tries to hand me $5. I wave the tip away, apologize that I can't shake his hand because I am so filthy and wish them a happy event and good luck. The couple pile into their car and head off to the wedding.

Here is where Karma kicks in:

As we pull onto the highway, my wife tells me she is proud that I stopped to help the couple and I brush it off telling her that my tire change karma account is full-up for the foreseeable future. :D

I am sure most of you know what I am talking about here and can relate. Service to others and charitable giving is its' own benefit. I served in the submarine service, I give blood regularly, annually we support the Marines and their awesome Toys for Tots program and my wife is a director for a major national charity...we know what giving feels like and frankly it feels good.

Anyway, we get into traffic and roll up to my standard 80-85mph highway cruise speed. We are talking about how people used to get dressed up to fly on airplanes and to go out to dinner back in the old days the elderly couple were from. Bla bla bla, just small talk you know, and it starts to happen.

I start to hear a rapid tick-tick-tick noise from the rear of my RX...

I check the mirrors and look to see if I am dragging something...nope. The noise is becoming a bit more insistent: tack-tack-tack! Right now, I am passing a tractor-trailer, but I get around him and lift slightly to prepare to pull over and see what the hell is going on with my car.

As I am checking my right mirror, the noise becomes more of a thup-thup-thup and then BLAM! The right-rear tire disintegrated and I actually saw the tread fly up off the back of the car and bounce along the highway. Luckily I was already slowing down and I quickly got myself off the side of the highway.

I had never seen a tire come apart quite so completely in my life!

Thanks Karma! I figured I would dodge the flat tire bullet for several years at least, but only managed to make it about 8 miles. Grrr.

To add insult to injury, I had to totally unload the packed RX so I could get to the spare, change it out, and then repack the car with all our junk. It was a 45 minute ordeal on the side of the interstate...and how many people stopped? Not a one. :(

Thats OK, I was glad to help regardless, but from that day forward any reference to "Karma" reminds me of this story and I smile.

Sorry for the long post! Anyone else have a Karma story?

B Wins Big Cool Points!.......

Nicely done.

Be patient, Karma doesn't own a clock.......

[raymsixsix]

Every time I see or hear a reference to "Karma", it reminds me of this story...

My wife and I had been vacationing in Yosemite and were driving home to Los Angeles on the interstate near Fresno.

We had the RX300 and it was loaded up with camping and hiking junk, and we also had our mountain bikes stuffed inside the RX because we didn't have a bike rack for the hitch. Basically we are fully loaded front to back, bottom to top.

As usual, the RX is eating up road and we are comfy and safe, enjoying the trip back and looking forward to recovering from our strenuous vacation of hiking and biking.

We pull off the interstate to get some gas, and while filling up, I see an older American sedan pull in and the right-rear tire is on the rim. "Man, that sucks" I think to myself, and turn my attention back to the task at hand. I finish filling up and cleaning the windshield and wait a moment while the wife finishes her "potty stop" and the inevitable shopping excursion.

I again look up and notice the sedan with a flat, and now the driver is out of the car to evaluate the situation and is helping his wife out of the car for her to look as well.

The couple is an older black couple, age hard to tell. Certainly they are in their late 60's, possibly as old as 80's. They are dressed to the nines. The gentleman is wearing an older suit with vest, stick pin and french cuffs with links. His wing-tips glisten from across the lot. His wife is wearing a nice dress and clunky heels, she is fully accessorized with delicate gloves and a hat with a short veil around the brim and a small clutch. I think you get the point: a nicely dressed elderly couple, obviously headed to some event or another and now stranded by a flat.

My wife was finally getting belted in and stowing her payload of candy, gum and soda. I looked over and told her we were going to be a few minutes. I pulled up to the couple and their sedan and jumped out to give them a hand.

I mean really...everyone would stop under these circumstances, right? I got out and introduced myself to the gentleman, shook his hand and asked him if I could change his tire for him. He initially said he would be able to do it, and I assured him I was sure he could do it too, but insisted that he simply wasn't dressed for the occasion. :) He agreed with that, laughed and thanked me while helping me find the spare and tools. The spare is at about 5 PSI, of course, because it hasn't seen the light of day in 20 years, so I rolled it over to the 50 cent air dispenser and filled it up.

During the tire change, my wife is talking to his wife and apparently they are headed to one of their granddaughter's wedding and are actually running a bit late. I kick up the tire change pace a bit and we get them ready to go. I am filthy from the task, but that is to be expected, right? Better me than him. Tire change complete.

They are grateful and he tries to hand me $5. I wave the tip away, apologize that I can't shake his hand because I am so filthy and wish them a happy event and good luck. The couple pile into their car and head off to the wedding.

Here is where Karma kicks in:

As we pull onto the highway, my wife tells me she is proud that I stopped to help the couple and I brush it off telling her that my tire change karma account is full-up for the foreseeable future. :D

I am sure most of you know what I am talking about here and can relate. Service to others and charitable giving is its' own benefit. I served in the submarine service, I give blood regularly, annually we support the Marines and their awesome Toys for Tots program and my wife is a director for a major national charity...we know what giving feels like and frankly it feels good.

Anyway, we get into traffic and roll up to my standard 80-85mph highway cruise speed. We are talking about how people used to get dressed up to fly on airplanes and to go out to dinner back in the old days the elderly couple were from. Bla bla bla, just small talk you know, and it starts to happen.

I start to hear a rapid tick-tick-tick noise from the rear of my RX...

I check the mirrors and look to see if I am dragging something...nope. The noise is becoming a bit more insistent: tack-tack-tack! Right now, I am passing a tractor-trailer, but I get around him and lift slightly to prepare to pull over and see what the hell is going on with my car.

As I am checking my right mirror, the noise becomes more of a thup-thup-thup and then BLAM! The right-rear tire disintegrated and I actually saw the tread fly up off the back of the car and bounce along the highway. Luckily I was already slowing down and I quickly got myself off the side of the highway.

I had never seen a tire come apart quite so completely in my life!

Thanks Karma! I figured I would dodge the flat tire bullet for several years at least, but only managed to make it about 8 miles. Grrr.

To add insult to injury, I had to totally unload the packed RX so I could get to the spare, change it out, and then repack the car with all our junk. It was a 45 minute ordeal on the side of the interstate...and how many people stopped? Not a one. :(

Thats OK, I was glad to help regardless, but from that day forward any reference to "Karma" reminds me of this story and I smile.

Sorry for the long post! Anyone else have a Karma story?

Great story Billy. My grandmother always says to me, "not all dissappointments mean misfortune." As far back as I can remember she always said that to me whenever something annoying, or minor setback would take place. I'm sure what she meant was that sometimes these things happen to keep you out of a worse situation. Being she's a christian, I'm sure she implied that there was some greater power than our own at work, in the grand scheme of things.

[smooth1]

It's kind of funny, I read this last week, and while I don't know if this falls into a Karma thing or not, it non the less happened.

Yesterday when I was closing up the shop, one of my employees had left one of the radios on in the back. So as I was walking towards it to shut it off, I could hear the newsperson talking about a wreck that had occured and how they had the road completely blocked off. This road was my way home. So I thought, wow, how lucky, the guys never use this radio, and the one day they did, they forgot to turn it off and it just so happened on this day there was a big accident on my route home! Great, so I mentally remapped a different way home as I turned off the light and locked up to go home. I never go home the way I decided to go this time. But I figured it would navigate me right around the traffic and put me back on the route I normally take home right after where the accident had occured. As I went down the street I never travel, I came to a red light and stopped behind another car waiting at the light. We were the only 2 cars at the light. Inside that car I saw two people hitting at each other. My first thought was "kids" horseplaying in the car, but as I started to watch a bit closer, the passenger was really hitting the driver! The passenger looked back and saw me watching. I started to get out of the car when the driver, who turned out to be female, opened the car door and screaming and holding her face with blood everywhere, fell out of the car, got up, and started running across the street to a gas station. The male passenger was yelling profanities and such ran around the car and jumped in and started to take off. So, I followed the car until I could get a pen and wrote down the tag number and called 911. It all became somewhat surreal after that. I described what I had seen to the 911 operator and they put me on hold very breifly and introduced someone else to the conversation. I again explained what happened and gave them the tag number, the description of the car and where we were heading. I could tell I was talking to an officer directly in a car, he asked me what I was driving and I told him, and about what seemed like 30 seconds later I heard him say, "I see you, pull over out of the way." I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the police car gaining on me fast. Wow! I thought, that was fast! So I moved over, the police car turned on his lights and siren and the car we were following took off! Wheels squeeling and engines revving, he turned onto another road and they were gone. I was still on the phone with the 911 operator who was asking me other questions about the victim, like what was she wearing and stuff like that. After that the 911 operator thanked me for calling this in, and we ended the conversation. About 3 hours later I got a phone call from the police department, the officer I was on the phone with in the car wanted to thank me for the great detail, and key information. They chased him down and arrested him. Appearently this wasn't just a domestic fight, he had carjacked the girl from a grocery store parking lot, and when she refused to comply with him in the car, he started to hit her, which is the part I saw. I asked if they needed me to make a statement, but he said he doubts it as they have enouph evidence as it is Thanks to my call and info. Later that night I saw it on the news. LOL!! They said " A good sameritan called 911 and blah blah blah...." that was me! LOL!

Afterwards I've been thinking about this. It's like it was fate. I never go that way! The guys never use this radio. But it all just happened, like it was supposed to happen that day. I asked the officer if she was going to be ok, and I was told while she will have to go to the hospital and get some stitches and patched up, she will be fine. But if I hadn't been there, who knows what could have happened.

[raymsixsix]

Whoa! Amazing story, and smooth was one of the heroes in the saga

[eatingupblacktop]

Just read this. Don't know how I missed it for so long? Got an incident a little different from billy's and smooth's stories. Not quite karma, more like angels watching over you.

Starts with me stopped at a red light at a T intersection at the bottom of a hill southbound. Two lane road. ON the other side of the lights, northbound are two cars one behind the other. The only other road ends at the road I'm on from my right. The station on the radio had just finished playing a song. I turned down the volume to concentrate on the riff in the song. I was thinking of playing with it at the jam I was going to. Just at the moment I turned down the radio, I heard air horns blaring away nonstop. Looked around to see where it was coming from when I noticed headlights coming right at me from the rear. An 18 wheeler had lost his brakes and was coming down the hill towards the intersection where we were all waiting for the lights to change. I'm sure I left a strip of rubber all the way around the corner as I turned right to get out of the way. The semi went right through the lights and half way up the hill on the other side before he was able to jack knife the trailer to stop his rig. Sat there for a while with the lyrics of the song they had just finished playing running through my head. Ironically it was "Highway to Hell" by ACDC:

"No stop signs, speed limit

Nobody's gonna slow us down

Like a wheel, gonna spin it

Nobody's mess me 'round

HEY SATAN!

Payin' my dues, playin' in a rockin' band

HEY MAMA!

Look at me, I'm on my way to the promised land

I'm on the HIGHWAY TO HELL!!"

I'm convinced, someone was watching over me that day.