By
(This one is actually something that happened to my brother this winter: It appeared in Newsweek in 2006)
Why topping off the gas is not a good idea
On my last trip home from the West Coast to
I tried to clean up using the sponge mop for the windshield and lots of paper towels, but I was a mess. When I tried to board the rental car agency bus, the driver told me I wasn’t allowed because I smelled like a fire danger. I insisted and stood reeking by the door of the bus only to be dropped at the wrong terminal. Running at full speed, I managed to air out a little.
Security clearance was surprisingly easy, but no one in the small first class cabin was too pleased to be breathing the vapors from my suit. I asked if anyone had something else I could wear as it was a quick trip and I had nothing with me. The flight attendant said she had a uniform dress, but nothing else.
That wasn’t exactly an option, so I was relieved to see a someone on the plane that I knew. He chuckled at my request and said he too was packing light and only had a pair of pajamas. “They’re of the shorty variety,” he whispered.
Pride no longer mattered. I went into the bathroom, disrobed, cleaned up, bagged up my suit, put on the P.J.s and came out with my black stockings pulled up and dress shoes shining. The section applauded and I made it home safely. <<
Debby Merikel is travel editor of LetLifeIn.com
Thank you for posting this. I work at a gas station. It rarely happens but the gas in the pump will backfire like it did on you. The customer is always insistant on having his dry cleaning bill taken care of and we decline.
The culprit? Not neccessarily that customer personally, but the number of people who “topped off” their tanks (after the nozzle has automatically shut off, but they feel the need to pump until a round dollar amount to make it even). The gas pressure builds up and ends up in a mess on someone who hasn’t even started pumping their own gas.
This is not the stations fault but rather the number of “rules don’t apply to me” people who consistantly top their tanks off. Also static from re-entering vehicles can start a fire but people believe the rules don’t apply to them when they need to hear the end of the game on AM radio or return to a conversation with their passenger or keep an eye on their kids. The kids will be safer if you DO NOT RE-ENTER the vehicle. Whatever they are doing will probably not hurt them more than a fire or explosion of the vehicle they are in because Dad had to open the car door to tell them to stop wrestling etc…
This note is for anyone who reads it not neccessarily a response to this article.
STOP STATIC!