So there I was at a gas station. Alone.
Ninety miles from home with sixty miles of gas in the tank.
Which normally wouldn’t be a problem since I was parked next to a pump. Unfortunately, though, I couldn’t get my gas tank door open. (It’s the kind you press on in a certain place and it pops open.)
This problem had been happening intermittently but was always resolved after a minute or two of pressing on the door in various places. But there in the foothills of North Carolina, the door was not opening no matter where I pressed.
So what’s a girl to do, stuck miles from home with an insufficient supply of gas? I was reluctant to ask for help because I didn’t want to look like a ditzy grandma who couldn’t even pump gas by herself. But it was either do that or get towed a long way home.
I skulked around for a few minutes trying to find the appropriate guy to ask, finally settling on a fella in his 20s wearing a mechanic’s uniform. I explained my dilemma and he agreed to take a look.
I prepared myself for a speedy procedure wherein he–mechanic that he was–would press a certain magical spot and the door would fly open. It didn’t happen. He pushed this spot and that spot with no success. Taking out a screwdriver, he tried to wedge it into the door all the while pushing on different points. Nothing.
Ten minutes passed with no results and I was starting to feel a bit awkward, shifting from foot to foot, wondering if I should make conversation, wondering if I should just be quiet. I certainly wasn’t able to offer any helpful advice.
I was starting to lose all hope of success when suddenly, the door popped open. I wanted to hug my Good Samaritan but I thought that might alarm him so I just thanked him three dozen times before he hopped back in his truck and disappeared.
I am so thankful that there are people out there who will take the time to help someone in distress. There was absolutely nothing in it for him and I’m sure he had things he needed to be doing. But he was polite and helpful and determined to solve my problem and get me on my way.
I think he must have had a good mama.
reminds me of good kids. Like these two.
This photo was taken at a marriage event. I just love it–and love them!
this is my last mention of Steve’s decades-old, infamous, hole-y sweater. But he decided I needed to take a photo of him putting it into the trash. It now resides safely in the Charlotte dump where he can no longer find it and put it on.
Isn’t it great how I timed this shot to catch him in mid-throw? He had tossed it with his left arm and I caught its descent.
Speaking of sweaters, last week he was wearing a sweater vest when he had breakfast with a young pastor he’s been mentoring. As they were eating, they noticed a television crew filming the employees and the work area of the small, local coffee shop. Eventually, the team wound their way around to Steve and his friend and asked if they would mind being interviewed. The pastor had an appointment so Steve told them he’d be glad to stay and do it. They set up lights and two cameras and spent about twenty minutes filming. Steve is a great communicator so this was right in his wheelhouse.
When he was telling me the whole story later in the day, he couldn’t figure out why I was giggling.
This is the reason.
He had gotten dressed so quickly that morning that he had put his vest on inside out. The tag was poking out the whole day–and all during the interview. We both had a good laugh about it.
I took on after I’d been on my job for about a year was to rearrange the break room because the storage layout just didn’t make sense.
For instance, there is an area on the counter with a metal holder for disposable coffee cups and lids.
If the holder emptied out, the logical thing you’d want to see when opening the cupboard immediately above would be replacement cups. Inexplicably, though, that cupboard housed a library. The extra cups were on the other side of the room in disorganized boxes.
So with my supervisor’s blessing, I completely rearranged every cupboard and drawer and then labeled everything. Organizing is one of my favorite things to do–although you’d never guess that by looking at our basement.
However, to the horror of my editing-loving heart, I just discovered last week that I had printed out a label with a misspelled word on it. What’s worse is that it took me four months of looking at it almost every day to notice the error.
Of course, you can understand why I might have made this particular mistake.
Sarah Wrap! We’d been using Sarah Wrap all those months.
You’ll be glad to know I re-printed the label and our Sarah Wrap has been transformed back to Saran Wrap. Who can blame me for my fingers automatically typing an H instead of an N?
Speaking of Sarah Wrap, there has also been a Gage Wrap in Charlotte. He has been quite sick with vomiting, sore throat, cough, fever, and chills. Sarah has done her wifely best to wrap him up and keep him warm. Sarah reports he is feeling better now.
And with that, I’m just going to “wrap” this up. See you next week!
What about you?
Has there been a lot of flu/sickness where you live? We’ve had a lot of it at work.
When have you had someone be a Good Samaritan to you? Or you to them?
Have you ever made a memorable typo, possibly even an embarrassing one? (Thankfully, mine wasn’t too embarrassing.)
My kids used to wear T-Shirts inside out for good luck. Tell Steve – maybe that applies to sweaters, too.
Fred and Lucy,
Don’t give him any ideas!
One year when I was observing student teachers for a local college, I had been in three different schools and observed four different teachers in middle school classes. I had also spoken to their administrators and supervising teachers at a conference which with each of them after their observations. I stopped by the bathroom on my way out of my last school before driving home and discovered I had ketchup from my breakfast on the side of my nose. No one all day long had mentioned that I had a dried blob of ketchup on my nose. Luckily I was never going to see those people again, so I just laughed on the way home.
Lisa,
Oh, that is too funny.
I think if I had been one of those teachers or administrators, I would have said something! I would probably say something if I saw that on someone else.
I’m glad you were able to laugh about it on the way home; that shows you don’t take yourself too seriously. 🙂
You are so busy all the time. You make me tired….lol. I admire you for taking on jobs that most people would turn and run from. Glad you got the gas lid open. I am still laughing about Steve’s backward vest… 😀 Hope your week is blessed and everyone stays safe and healthy.
Kaye,
Steve and his vest–definitely a smile-producer.
I would organize every break room in Charlotte, if I could. So much fun!
My husband had the “crud” at Christmas and my middle child the following week. Thankfully, that’s all so far this year. I always say my middle child/oldest daughter works in a germ factory – she works in a classroom for preschool children with disabilities so there is not a lot of “sanitary” coughing and sneezing – but I hope she’s built up her immune system to super levels.
Any time my husband sees a “damsel in distress” he tries to help because he always says he hopes someone would do the same for me when needed.
What a nice job organizing your break room – I hope your coworkers are much appreciative of your efforts! I hope you have a fabulous first week of February!!
Sue Ellen,
I love your husband’s mindset; he sounds like a great guy! Steve is the same way. He always helps out when he can which is one of the many things I love about him.
Bless your daughter for her wonderful work with kids. I would certainly imagine her immune system is stronger than most because it’s probably up and fighting every day!
Did anyone play taps for Steve’s sweater? I am sure that was hard to do – losing an “old friend” after so many years. Quite the spiritual one he had. Holey!!!!! Had to chuckle at Sarah Wrap. A very honest and believable mistake. Am sure Sarah was honored. When we pray for you and Steve, we also pray for Sarah and Gage. Did he have the flu or Covid? Glad to hear he is doing better. We got our flu shots in November – it’s one thing we do every year. No more Covid shots!
Sharyn,
We should have had a little goodbye ceremony. That has been a part of our family for many decades.
Gage had a really bad case of the flu. And then as he was getting over his, Sarah got it. So they’ve had a long week. Many, many thanks for your prayers.
And shame on me…. I forgot to wish Gage a speedy recovery. Get well, Gage!
Jan–thanks for your thoughtfulness.
In May 2023 I fell and broke my femur. I live alone, so after surgery I spent a month in a skilled nursing facility to get physical therapy. I still live alone but I’m still quite disabled. I remain pigheaded though and am determined to do as much for myself as I can. But when I’m out and about and I’m struggling, there is always a good Samaritan.
In fact, one of my Good Samaritans actually played the Good Samaritin about 72 years ago. Our summer Daily Vacation Bible School did a pagent about the Samaritan, “A” played said Samaritan in the pagent we put on for a nearby nursing home. When I was recuperating, I needed to get service to my hearing aids, but my son works in the daytime, and I wasn’t ready to drive that far. “A” heard about my problem, and even though he lives 90 minues from here, he picked me up and took me to get my hearing back! Long-time friends can be so wonderful.
Jan,
Old friends are a true blessing, aren’t they? Anyone that would drive 90 miles to help you is wonderful, indeed. It is rare to have a person who plays a Samaritan in a play to also be one in real life.
I love it that you remain “pigheaded.” You go, girl!
I suspect that “Saran Wrap” will henceforth be known as “Sarah Wrap” in your household! A very cute typo!
There has been a great deal of sickness in our area. I had the flu a couple of weeks ago — it was not fun — I hadn’t felt that poorly for a long time. Glad you are on the mend!
DeLynn,
Yes, from what I hear, this current strain of the flu seems a lot harder to get over than other season.
And yes, the Sarah Wrap moniker may “stick” around for a while. 🙂
Well I am a Jersey girl and everyone knows Jersey girls don’t pump their own gas! So when we moved to Kansas in 1997 my husband took me to a gas station, showed me how to pump my own and thought I would be okay. A few days later, I dropped my kids off at school, saw I was low on gas and went to the same station but for some reason, could not remember how to do it ( I know all you diy pumpers, it is so easy). I started to cry, the people inside said it wasn’t their job, and I was just left standing there. Fortunately for me a wonderful man at the pump behind me saw my Jersey plates and my tears and came to my rescue. It’s now been 28 years that I have very proudly been pumping my own!
Dale,
That is so sad to think of you standing beside the gas tank crying. I can’t believe the employees didn’t help you and am thankful for that wonderful gentleman who was willing to help out.
Congrats on 28 years of DIY pumping!
Oh Beck, you had me chuckling over the gas cap mishap, Steve’s wardrobe problems and the Sarah wrap! So funny!
Bless the guy who helped you! Hopefully Steve’s tag didn’t show up on camera during the interview. And hallelujah, people in your break room can now find their saran wrap without having to wonder why Sarah needs a wrap. 😁. Great job getting everything organized! It is so satisfying to bring order where there was disorder, plus it makes life easier for everyone! You deserve a bonus.
So glad Gage is feeling better! There has been so much sickness going around everywhere. I read that while hand sanitizers don’t kill the Norovirus (the one that causes vomiting and diarrhea), hydrogen peroxide does. So I filled a little bottle with it and added some cotton balls in a baggie. It all goes in my purse and whenever I’m in a restaurant or shopping, I try to swab down whatever I can with peroxide first. It may be a little over the top, but it makes me feel better to try and mount some small defense against the dreaded virus!
We finally have an accumulating snow here in WI today, which is so pretty! Heretofore, we’ve only had little bits and dribbles of snow, at least in our area, so it’s nice to get a good covering.
Love ‘n hugs to you guys!
Deb
Deb,
Yes, I’m sure the Sarah Wrap was the talk of the town! 🙂
Who knew that hydrogen peroxide kills a flu virus? I agree that it feels good to know you can at least do a little something to combat a bad case of the flu. Spray, Deb, spray!.
Enjoy your pretty snow and think of us here in NC suffering with 75 degree temps. (I would love to have some snow!)
Oh Sarah wrap…that’s too funny! I know I’ve made typos before but can’t think of any right now.
There is so much flu and COVID going around here (Lincoln, NE) and I just saw on the news that there is an outbreak of tuberculosis in Kansas. Yikes! I’ll just stay right here and wash my hands a lot.
Time to get that little push latch replaced!! What a nice man!
When I was 16, I was learning to drive a stick shift and killed it on an incline at a busy intersection in Denver. Couldn’t get it going again. I was so frustrated! This really nice gentleman behind me came and started the car and pulled it out of traffic and into a parking lot for me. I was crying I was so embarrassed. I thanked him a million times over and I eventually got the car home. What a blessing he was!!
LeeAnne,
Tuberculosis? Yikes. Not a good thing!
Yes, we got that gas tank door replaced the next week. No more sweatin’ it at the gas station. Whew!
I am applauding from a distance that guy who helped you in traffic. I would have been crying, too! And good for you for having the courage to get back into the car and get it home on your own. That took a lot of courage.
I have a wheelhouse?! Well what’ll ya know!
Steve,
I have hereby bestowed one aponst you.💕