I looked down at my silver, glittery wristband.

The one that we got by waking up at 4:15 am, then standing in line for four hours at the grand opening of the Microsoft store in Boston, feeling like a Democrat who'd crashed the Republican convention. (I'm an Apple girl, a'ight?) The one, as the first 100 peeps in line, not only got us four free seats, to the Lenny Kravitz show, but entrance into his post-concert meet and greet.

The one that convinced my girlfriend Kristine to fly to Providence from New Orleans with a hurricane on the horizon. The one that had our pal Rhodes, researching his options on the best way to take a much needed break from the 24/7 care of his mom suffering from full blown dementia, to meet us out for some music and fun.

I didn't know quite how it would all work out yet.

But I knew it would.

The troops? Not quite mobilized. Kristine? In Boston. In line. She took the train from Providence earlier in the morning, leaving absolutely nothing to chance. Smart girl. Rhodes? His job was, apparently, making sure Kristine got into the pavilion. His wristband was safely tucked in my purse and currently accompanying Andre and I on a slow, painful tour of Route 1 North in Walpole, MA.

Tire shopping. Of course. Here's what I learned along the way:

My husband, as mature and financially secure as he may get, will always view a slow leak the same way he did when he was twenty and broke. Don't investigate. Just watch and wait.

Convenience stores do sell fix-a-flat in Massachusetts, even with tighter environmental standards, but those free air pumps are hard to come by.

When Town Faire Tire in Walpole, MA (shout out to the service manager at 75 Providence Highway) says they're closing at 4pm on a Saturday, they mean it. Even if you've got a whole half hour to spare. They will, however, provide enough air, to not only get you out of the parking lot, but five miles down the street to their competition. And if the store they recommended closed at noon, well, that's just on you.

Starbucks has clean bathrooms in a pinch.

AAA apparently does contract non-uniformed drivers, in unmarked pick-up trucks, for simple tire changes. Or, maybe, we were just had by a hired hit man trying to kill us by putting our donut on the front, instead of rotating it to the back, where control, and stopping, may have not been an issue.

Our car came off the lot with an outstanding set of performance tires. That are not sold standard. Anywhere. Not even at the place that ignored Andre for a full five minutes before he lost it on the clerk. Sorry, fella. Just an acknowledgement would have got you a whole different experience.

Good, honest, kind people, and mechanical angels, work at the PepBoys in Walpole. And if there's no traffic, you can make it from here to the Bank of America Pavilion in half an hour.

Rhodes would be able to charm a wristband off Lenny Kravitz himself. In fact, he may have. See.

Two friends could save two front row center tickets for two hours. Two friends like these will.

And maybe even get you on the big screen. See.

Lenny Kravitz puts on a hell of a show. And takes a hell of a picture. See.

Everything might not always go exactly as planned, but it always works out.

Somehow.