I Suppose I Broke the Law Tonight
In Oregon you’re not allowed to pump your own gas. I pulled into a station tonight, waited as the attendant stood slackly beside the car of two morons arguing over what cash they had when he could have taken my waiting credit card and started my gas in the time they took to settle on an amount. I listened to the pump filling my car shut off. And then waited, along with three other cars, for the attendant to return and take the nozzles out of our cars.
And waited. And started counting backwards from thirty, getting out of my car at twenty-five and craning my neck around the islands for the attendant. He wasn’t there. He’d gone into the building for some reason impenetrable to me. And the three other cars and I waited.
Somebody honked. The door to the building was propped open and the interior lit (it was apparently an office, as the convenience store part was closed and possibly completely unoccupied). I yanked the nozzle out of my car, twisted my gas cap shut till it clicked several times, and slammed my gas door. I hope he heard me.
I got into my car as he was hurrying out to the cash-morons’ car. I drove away.
I’m from Indiana. I can handle the damn gas pump. Just one more little annoyance among those that are making me tired of living in Oregon.
5 comments »
Copy link for RSS feed for comments on this post or for TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
It’s illegal to pump your own gas?!?
Sorry, I just can’t get past that part.
Comment by jae — October 12, 2007 @ 5:34 am
Everything is wrong with this picture. It’s inefficient, it will drive up the cost of gas because you’ll have to figure in the salary of the gas-pumping-guy. I’m with jae — I can’t get past that part where it’s illegal to pump your own gas. Completely senseless.
Please break that law often. I feel sure you’ll have lots of company.
Comment by Anne — October 12, 2007 @ 5:56 am
Well, it’s not a new law. People here are pretty well used to it and despite the antiwar anarchists the city houses, the majority of the population is not into disobedience, civil or uncivil. I imagine that if I were to make a habit of attempting to break it I would first get into several confrontations with the station personnel and eventually police. I’m not sure what the penalty would be.
Comment by Anwyn — October 12, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Anwyn, I’d say you got off lucky. As a life-long resident of Oregon, I too am perplexed by the illegality of pumping our own gas. (Supposedly is is because of the dangers of inhaling gas fumes, which I’m sure you know magically stop when they hit the magical plane of your open car window!) I’ve seen attendants get pretty damn huffy when I’ve been in your shoes, paid with card, pumps done, and I’m in a rush and the attendant is AWOL. I guess I fought the law, and the law didn’t win!
Comment by T.Paine — October 12, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Side effect of the law: artificial self-importance for gas-pump attendants. Indeed, T. Paine.
Comment by Anwyn — October 12, 2007 @ 10:34 am