Now, I'm no fan of changing tires under the best of circumstances, and this was probably as far from the best of circumstances as I'll ever find myself. Remember, the blown tire was on the driver's side, and I was on the right shoulder of an interstate highway. So as I was changing the tire, cars and trucks were rushing past me at 70 miles an hour, about two feet away from where I was working. Oh, and it was dark. It was, to coin a phrase, the kind of fun that wasn't.
Anyway, I got the tire changed and I didn't die, and I made it to boliver's dad's house without further incident. The next morning, she and I found a tire place, got some new tires, and broke them in driving back to Loudoun County. They failed to blow out, and have continued to not blow out in the days since, so props to Sears Auto Center at Regency Square Mall.