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To the editor:

On Thursday, Nov. 21, my wife and I were traveling through Natchez when our Toyota Rav 4 broke down. We had been hearing strange noises from our car for more than a week and came to an abrupt stop at the intersection of U.S. 84 and U.S. 61. We were able to limp across the street into the gas station where I noticed I had a flat rear-passenger tire.

After removing all the luggage from the back of the car, I removed the jack and the donut (spare) tire. Before jacking up the car, I could see through the car’s rim that things were not right: the brake pads were not aligned correctly with the brake rotor. After removing the flat tire, I noticed the brake caliper was not attached to the brake system and the bolts were missing.

We immediately called Geico roadside assistance, but they were unable to locate any tow trucks. Having just replaced the brake pads and rotors prior to our trip, we called Monro roadside assistance folks. Unfortunately, they too eventually stated they could not help us with a towing service and wished us good luck!

At this point, the situation was very dire. Our car was broken down and could not be moved because the brake system could not be attached to the wheel. Forcing the tire on would create more damage to the car. Moreover, we were traveling from Connecticut to Austin, Texas, to celebrate Thanksgiving with our daughter. We knew no one in Natchez, had no tools, nor a way to get assistance.

We then began to reach out to towing companies directly and were fortunate enough to get an immediate response from Alexander Towing, who went above and beyond what a towing service normally provides.

Paul from Alexander Towning, and another individual (a mechanic whose girlfriend works at the gas station), examined the brake system, and agreed that without the missing caliper bolts, the car was not going anywhere. Paul offered to remove a bolt from the driver-side caliper, then drove off to purchase replacement bolts. Paul returned in about an hour with new bolts, installed them for us, and mounted the spare — at no charge.

With the issue resolved, things were looking much better. It was at this point that the mechanic informed us that our spare donut tire was good for only 70 miles maximum. He also explained that when the loose caliper came free, it punctured the aluminum rim which flattened the tire. We needed a new rim to continue our drive to Austin.

We spoke with the Natchez Toyota dealership service manager and learned that they could not get a new rim for us until the following Monday, at best. Disheartened, we then realized that our non-refundable B&B reservation in Natchitoches, Louisiana, was the least of our concerns. Both Paul and the mechanic recommended Scott’s Welding to repair the rim when it reopened the following day.

We spent the night at the Natchez Grand Hotel and had a fine meal at Magnolia Grill. The following day, we drove to Scott’s welding where they confirmed they could fix the rim. We then drove to Gene’s Tire Center to have the flat tire removed, then back to Scott’s welding where the rim was repaired, and finally back to Gene’s Tire Center to have the tire remounted and re-balanced. When all was said and done, Gene’s Tire Center refused to charge us — and Scott’s Welding only accepted our money under duress.

Coming full circle on Southern hospitality, the good folks of Natchez truly went out of their way to help my wife and I get back on the road as quickly as possible. Multiple folks at the gas station came over to assist: a plumber filling up his truck searched for bolts in his truck he thought might fit; a woman working adjacent to the gas station offered to drive me to the parts store to purchase the bolts; the mechanic who arrived shortly after 5 p.m. to pick up his girlfriend at the gas station worked with Paul to assess the situation and stayed with us for more than 90 minutes. Chasity at Gene’s Tire Center, who was also the girlfriend of Paul, called and spoke with Scott’s Welding to let them know we were coming and coordinate excellent service.

Overall, Natchez is a wonderful town with very kind folks, and we were extremely fortunate to break down there.

Sincerely,

Michael and Debbie Burch

Connecticutt