Well it’s been another 12 hour day of work and I’m heading home. Look at the fuel gauge, I’m getting pretty low, figure I’ll swing by the Shell Station once I get off of 75. Fast forward an hour and I’m at the pump. I pick 93, stick 'er in, and figure while I’m at it I might as well check the oil and tire pressure. Well everything checks out fine so I hop back in the car and drive away.POP HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HOLY SHIT!!! I Shoot into the turn lane, make a right, and skid to a stop. I get out and sure enough, there she is, hanging from car, a bright shiny gas nozzle and about five foot of hose. Yes folks I am that idiot you never thought you’d know. I am the man who drives away without bothering to perform that one critical step in the fueling process, removing the gas nozzle.
So as you can probably tell, I didn’t run over a soda can. No, the POP I heard was me ripping the gas line out of the pump as I drove away. The honks that filled the night weren’t directed at some jackass in front of me but at the jackass in my car. What a damned night…
Oh, and yes, I did return it. Talk about one hell of an embarrassing moment. You try walking into a gas station holding a pump handle and a reel of hose. Try and hold your head up high then. It’s difficult.
EDIT (From page three, just putting it here to try and keep it all together):
So I guess you all want to know what happened when I returned it eh? Well on the drive back I was followed the entire way by a cop car. I got pretty nervous and started thinking that the cops had been called to the “scene of the crime.” Ended up getting stopped at a light before the turn into the Shell station. This gave me plenty of time to sweat over what the officer behind me was going to do. Lucky for me we both turned into the Shell station but I headed for the “office” and he headed for the pumps. Whew…
With that out of the way, I reached onto the passenger side, curled up the hose, got out of the car, and walked in to face the music. I went over to the counter and before I could say a word, the lady looks at the kill I have in my hands and says, “So you’re the one who ran off with our hose.” I was too damned embarrassed to say much more than, “Yup.” So she proceeds to take the hose from me and place it in some bright yellow bag with warnings on it. Of course by now everyone is staring at me. Great. I nervously bring out my wallet and ask, “How much do I owe for damages?” She just shakes her head and tells me, “Don’t worry about it.” Relieved, I blurt out, “I bet this happens too often right??” She stares me down and tells me, “Sometimes people accidentally pull them off, but no one ever drives away with 'em.” Before things get any more embarrassing I apologize to her again and quickly leave. I somehow manage to leave the gas station this time without trailing a fuel hose behind me. Imagine that!