From the mind of Flex

Responsibility
“Who’s really responsible”

The other day I was talking with a friend of mine named Lorenzo on the telephone. As our conversation began I immediately noticed that he wasn’t having such a good day. So I asked my him “man are you ok?” Lorenzo replied “I’m just pissed off from last night . I said you care to share and he did.

Lorenzo went out to meet some friends at a bar to have some drinks. After a couple hours being at the bar and about five drinks Lorenzo left for home. He got in his car and proceeded to drive himself home. He suddenly noticed that it felt like one of his tires were flat. He pulled the car to the side of the road and got out to check. He noticed that his rear left tire was flat. He went and opened up the trunk to get the tire jack out to change the tire. After he opened the trunk he didn’t see a jack so he closed the trunk and proceeded to drive home on the flat tire with his hazard lights on. Now when he woke up the next morning he remembered that he still had a flat tire. Just about that time I called him on the telephone and that’s when he told me what had happen. He was upset because he didn’t see a jack in the trunk. I told him that most times the jack is usually secured under the spare tire. He went and checked and found the jack but no lug wrench to remove the lugs from the tire. He called me back still upset. I told him where to search for the wrench only to find there was no wrench in the trunk. Now with Lorenzo still being upset he called his parents whom he lived with who so happened to have been out of town. He called his father on the telephone asked him for his Triple A membership number so he could call them out to fix his tire. Lorenzo then called triple A. Tripe A told him that the membership number wasn’t correct. He called his father back informing him that the number he gave him was incorrect. Lorenzo’s father told him to hold on while he call triple A himself. Triple A asked if he was physically with the vehicle with the flat and Lorenzo’s father replied “no.” Well, you can figure out the rest of the story. The Triple A operator wouldn't send out a service company to fix the flat unless the card holder was physically present. Lorenzo at that time becomes  upset at his father for calling Triple A instead of letting him handle it. He’s now mad at his aunt who gave him the car because she didn't make sure there was a lug wrench in the car when she gave him the car. He’s also upset at the Triple A operator for refusing to help him unless the card holder is present. “Who's to blame?”

So many time we find it so easy to blame someone else for our faults. I’ve done it countless time myself and I'm sure you have also but it doesn’t make the situation go away. We must learn to first take the time and ask ourselves the question "is this something I caused upon myself?". Lorenzo at this time became a little upset with me because of what I told him. This is what I told Lorenzo. First of all as your friend I’m going to tell you the truth not what you only want to hear.

1) As a driver it’s our responsibility first to ensure that the vehicle we’re driving has the necessary tools for the road for an emergency such as this.
2) Don’t get mad at your father for trying to help out. Rules are rules. Triple A has those rules in place for a reason. The Triple A operator was only doing her job so don‘t blame her.
3) Lorenzo should have his own roadside assistance membership and not have to depend on someone else who may not be able to help when situations like this arises.
4) Finally don't get mad at your aunt who gave you a vehicle you didn’t have to pay for. She was only trying to help you out.  But again remember it’s our responsibility as the driver or owner of the vehicle to inspect it before hand for the proper necessities.

Lorenzo was upset because I didn’t side with him but later called me back, apologized and told me that he took care of the problem. He called and joined Triple A and got his own membership. After joining Triple A roadside assistance came out and fixed his flat. Afterwards he went to an automobile store and bought a lug wrench for his vehicle. Needless to say, I was very proud of my friend for taking responsibility.

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