My favorite night in Los Angeles began with a flat tire!

How would you feel if you got a flat tire on Skid Row? I never actually contemplated this question myself, but as I walk to work every day and watch people lock their doors and roll up their windows on their drive down San Pedro or 6th St, I can imagine most would answer that they would be terrified. Scared of what you might wonder? Scared of that which they do not know. Last night I got the chance to experience firsthand the blessing that it is to have a flat tire on Skid Row…in all seriousness, one of the best nights of my life!

Yesterday, work ended like normal; children running everywhere, balls booming against the wall 2 millimeters behind my head, incredible goodbye hugs and getting permissions slips signed for Saturdays Halloween party. After all the kids that live next door at the Mission were picked up by their parents, I gathered up the 4 kids that I drive home every night. Because they live in the hotels, we offer the service of taking them home after the Say Yes program. I usually park on Towne St. which is 2 blocks from where I work. This is by no means too far but the afternoon returns to my car are always very interesting- why? Because every night there is a food distribution on Towne which means the street is lines with locals waiting for what could possibly be, their first meal of the day.

As I approached my car and began loading the children into my back seat, a couple gentlemen waiting in line pointed out to me that my right front tire was flat…woohoo! Seriously!? I have no skill in changing a tire, safely anyways, and I had to have the kids home in 10 minutes! Have no fear…God provides :-)

Several of the men in line offered their assistance and many others offered words of humor and encouragement. After accepting the help of a couple of the men, I informed them that I needed to make care of the kids first and then would be right back with my co-worker and friend Shaun. I was able to send the children home with another co-worker and Shaun and I headed back to Towne St. After re-soliciting the help of 2 kind men that had previously offered their services, Chaco, Dillon and Shaun set to work.

The tire was off pretty quickly but they couldn’t get the jack to lift the car up high enough. After trading several ideas on how to get the car lifted up, the men decided to lift the car up and hold it long enough to get the other wheel on. Within 30 seconds Chaco and Dillon had solicited the help of others in line and about 5 other men got hands on deck to lift my car…yes, these men quite literally he-man lifted my Honda Civic…what a beautiful picture! What a sense of loyalty there is on Skid Row (this isn’t the first time I’ve seen it)! As one stepped out of line, his buddies would hold his spot- they shouted encouragement and playful remarks to one another and they were all entirely appropriate and helpful with me as I got to spent my time “overseeing” the tire change and getting to know the men and women in line. Let’s just say that the tire change quickly grew into a source of entertainment for all parties involved.

The flat tire was finally pulled off and the spare put on. As Chaco and Dillon loaded the tire back into my trunk, I racked my brain, searching for the words to express the depth of my gratitude. I went to shake their hands and before I could thank them, they thanked me…they thanked me? Do what? They did all the work, I literally did nothing, why were thanking me? They thanked me and said God Bless you to me. I was so confused by their gratitude but attempted to thank them nonetheless. As I said God Bless you to Dillon, he remarked, “God always takes care of me.” I was blown away (again). This man, who was holding all his worldly possessions in a plastic grocery bag by his side, was telling me in complete confidence that the Lord always took care of Him…what a beautiful and inspiring faith! I came to find later that both of my knights in shining armor are strong believers…what a blessed night, my goodness!

As Shaun and I got in the car, our new friends waved goodbye and returned to their saved spots in the food line. Could this night possibly get any better? Of course it could, my spare tire was flat, lol. Oooooookkkk now it was time for Triple A. As Shaun and I walked back to the church where we work so I could wait inside with the remaining kids for the tow truck, he commented that changing my tire had probably been the highlight of the night for those men. This comment made me recall their thanks and I asked Shaun what he meant. Shaun proceeded to explain to me that one of mans greatest fears is to feel useless and out of control/ powerless of their lives and the circumstances they find themselves in, and why this is such a strong issue that homeless and jobless men deal with. Biblically we are shown that men are built inherently with the need to be needed and to provide for their families- this is why poverty 9lack of provision) rocks them to their core. While he neither excused drug dealing, drug and alcohol abuse, nor gang banging, Shaun did explain that the root cause of most of these problems is the crisis of masculinity. WOW! I had never realized this. Those men last night got to be my heroes, they were needed, they put their talents to work and were able to solve my problem. Praise God!

My flat tire experience on Towne St. was seriously an incredibly fun night! I felt so at home among the Central City residents, so loved and cared for, and so protected by these people shunned by society. I could have stayed there all night! AAA finally arrived, my car was towed and the nail in my tire removed, I scared my roommates because my phone was dead and last they heard I was stranded with a flat tire BUT I must say…my favorite night in Los Angeles was the night I got a flat tire on Skid Row!