“You’re alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act.” – Barbara Hall, A Summons to New Orleans, 2000

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Gas line

I went to work today. I left home around 8:00 planning to be at work around 9:00 or 9:30. It took forever to go the 12 miles or so to 287. And, when I got there the power was on so I stopped in a grocery store to pick up some things we agreed we should buy at the first opportunity.

All the frozen and refrigerated items were being purged from the shelves, but I did get some water, hamburger buns, etc. Then, I decided to go ahead and go to Home Depot to return an item I had bought a few days earlier. They took the return, and then I saw a guy with a couple of 5 gallon gas cans in his cart. Turns out they had a shipment of them and were allocating them 2 to a customer. I stood in line and scored two new gas cans.

As I drove back down 23 toward work, I decided to try to get some gas. I got in a line in the curbside lane that only took about 1/2 hour to get to a gas station. They let me have $20 in gas, so that filled one of the three 5 gallon cans I had (1 old one and my two new ones).

I got to work around 10:30. While there are some heroic people at work doing production, and all of them in a similar situation to us (or worse), for me there was not much to do but catch up on email and catch up on colleagues’ situations. I was able to take a shower.

Late afternoon I decided to head home and help Lynne with chores and dinner. The main road home was packed with people. Lights are out so it is a mess. Etc. So, I decided to take the back roads home. At one point, I am on a two lane road and crawling along. It took about an hour to go 3/4 of a mile. I just could not figure out what was wrong. On a call to Lynne she suggested that maybe I was in a gas line. After all, there is a gas station at the intersection I was headed for.

Sure enough. Even though I had not started out seeking gas, I had just spent more than an hour in a gas line! It was as if the lane of the road was routed through a gas station. When I finally got to the front of the line and was given an option of turning (to head home) or getting gas, I opted for the gas! After all, I’d spent my time in line!

I got 10 gallons! They were limiting purchases to $40.

So, now I am home. We had a great dinner grilled outside. And, we have 15 gallons of gas! I feel like a successful hunter today and I think my skills as a hunter are appreciated by Lynne.

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Posted under: by Rick on 11/01/2012 at 06:43 PM
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