I really worry about some people, and that is sincerely meant.
This morning, over at the local gas station, the mechanics changed a headlight on our car. Say, how many mechanics does it take to change a lightbulb? Three took about 20 minutes figuring out how to get the old bulb out and the new one in.
While they struggled to see the light, a finely dressed woman drove a polished SUV into the station for fuel. Problem: The gas station had no gas. “Out of Order” signs covered every pump. Undaunted, this woman circled around, eyeing them, before parking before one.
Meanwhile, activity under the hood of my car pulled away my attention. Seconds later, I heard the sound of credit card authorization. I turned my head to see the woman trying to pump fuel into her car. Disbelief overcame me. The “Out of Order” signs covered the center portion of the pumps, where is all the important information, like price per gallon and amount filled, would be. How could she possibly believe that she could get gas?
I snapped a pic with my Sony Ericsson S710a cell phone, as confirmation that there was no gas. [Editor: Photo is gone to history. If it ever reappears…]
I worried about this woman, wondering why she ignored a clear warning. At least five other gas stations—one across the street—are located within a mile of the one she chose. She had plenty of other options. I wondered: What else might she do—and at what consequence to herself or others?
Surely, we all do dumb things sometimes. But do you drink poison because the label warns: “Lethal if swallowed?”
Photo Credit: Gregory Bleakmore
Editor’s Note: On July 30, 2017, this post was recovered, using Archive.org Wayback Machine, from a snapshot of joewilcox.com during 2006, when months of content was lost while changing blogging systems and webhosts. Date and timestamps are authentic.