This is a bit of a rant: We are on the road the other day and heading south to get warmer. I have to plan in advance about where we are going to stop for gas. You can't just whip in to any station when you are over 40 ft. long! (32 bus and the rest car)
I usually try to find a Flying J Truck stop because they have special lanes set up for the RVers. My 2nd choice are Pilot Truck Stops because I get a discount at Pilot and Flying J. That is important when your gas tank holds 75 gallons. (By the way, gas prices in Florida are cheap. $2.14 on Wed) I have an app on my phone that directs me to these places which makes it easy.
The only problem with Pilot is they do not have RV lanes so I must squeeze in at the pumps with the hoi polloi. That means the end pumps, as I am too long to get into the middle ones. And so here I am on Wednesday entering a Pilot and heading for the end line of pumps. I need to pull ahead to the head of the pump line so that the last pump is even with the rear of the bus. Are you with me so far?
This day I cannot do this as there is a minivan just ahead of me at the front pump. And so we wait for the driver to finish and pull away. But there is no driver at the car and it has a handicapped plate. Maybe this old timer is moving slow to pay inside. We wait....and wait... and wait. A good 5 minutes go by and still no driver. This has happened to me before and I feel my guts tighten as the stress of waiting takes hold. By the way, did I tell you I cannot back up? We are stuck.
I suggest to Joanna that this might be a good time to unhitch the Ford as we will have to do it soon when we arrive at our next campsite. It seems we have plenty of time to do it while we wait.
At last, after about 15 minutes Mr. Car Owner shows up. He is carrying a bag of take out food and walking as casually as you and me. He says, "Oh sorry! I had to go to the bathroom and get something to eat." Now here comes my favorite part: " I haven't had a chance to fill up yet."
I am trying to remain calm as I suggest that perhaps he should have parked first to do his personal business and pulled to the pumps when done. That way he would not be blocking the pumps.
"Well how did I know a 90 footer would pull in behind me?"
As I said earlier, this has happened to me before in recent times. I think it is a reflection of the self-centered culture we live in today. "My needs supersede everyone elses"has become the mantra of America. I personally would never think of blocking a pump for 15 minutes at a very busy gas station. Would you? I am beginning to think America has become the capital of selfish "me first" people. We live in a society that promotes instant gratification and "me first" at the expense of everyone else. Am I getting this right? To quote a friend: "What am I missing?" I know this site does not allow comments, but you can email me with your thoughts at bucko27@earthlink.net. In the meantime, thanks for letting me vent!
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