Cheap Gas

On my way home from my mom’s house, I saw a gas station selling unleaded regular gas for $3.48. I checked my gas gauge, and fortunately I was just under half a tank. (It’s says something about something that one would consider himself “fortunate” to need gas at $3.48/gallon.) Unfortunately, to get into the gas station, I had to do a U-turn around a median. I performed the maneuver and didn’t notice that the station lot was full of cars waiting in lines. (It was after dark and traffic was pretty heavy, that’s why I didn’t see the congestion until already committed to the pull in.)

This station was selling gas on the cheap because a new station had opened down the street, and as a gimmick to get people in for the grand opening, it was selling gas cheap. I was third car in line after the person currently at the pump. When I was next in line, I saw the guy ahead of me pump gasoline all over the ground because apparently the auto-stop didn’t work. “I’ll have to keep my eye on that,” I said to myself.

When it was my turn to pull up to the pump, I made sure to stop in such a position that I wouldn’t have to stand in the puddle of gasoline — didn’t want to track that into my car. I got out, swiped my debit card and pulled the nozzle off the pump. Gasoline erupted from the nozzle as soon as I lifted it from the cradle. Dammit! I thought I managed to shift my feet out from under it in time to avoid getting my shoes.

I pumped my gas, stopping at six gallons, thinking that was enough to fill the tank without overflowing like the guy before me did. I hopped into my car and made my way back to the direction that would take me home. My gas gauge showed a full tank, and I was happy with my twenty-one dollars worth of gas. But then I started smelling gasoline in my car. Oh damn.

Some of that spilling gas must have fell on my shoes. I put the car on cruise control, and then removed my right shoe. I ran my window down and stuck my shoe out in the wind. I held it out in the 55 mph air for a minute and then brought it back into the car. I dropped the shoe into the passenger side floor, and then repeated the process with my left shoe. I didn’t smell gasoline after that, so I guessed it worked to blow the stench off

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com