Cars

Rattle! Screech! Clunk! The steering, the entire feel of the car was suddenly extremely wrong. Stopping in the middle of the lane, the owner glanced in his rearview mirror, just in time to see a tire -- his tire, wheel and all, go bouncing down the street.

He walked around to the passenger side of the car. The axle was now exposed and buried deep in an arching trench dug in the hot summer tar. Shards of the brake assembly were sprinkled all around. Assorted bits of rusty metal rolled towards the curb.

“Hey, mister. There’s a piece way over here!”