...I've stooped to "Gas Station Nostalgia".
My son has no frame of reference for the days when all service stations did was sell gas and fix cars... when they actually gave you little "bribes" like steak knives or Green Stamps to get you to buy their gas... the "click click click" of the gas pump as the numbers ticked off the dollars and gallons (and the "gallons" went faster than the "dollars").... when the different grades of gasoline had names, like Sky Chief, Fire Chief....
That was the sound that brought out the guy (and it was always a guy) who not only pumped your gas, but checked your oil and cleaned your windshield.
I actually was that guy for a while when I was in high school.
I got a very vivid lesson in life during my brief tenure as a pump jockey: there are all kinds of people in the world; there are some real jerks, but there are also honest, decent folks.
I had a customer come in and ask for five dollars worth of gas (hey, back then, that was a half tank or so), which I dutifully dispensed. He handed me three dollars. I said:
"Uh, Sir, it was five dollars"
"No, I only said three..."
His word against mine - what was I going to do; take two bucks worth back out? Guess where the other two bucks would be coming from? My pay. He left me pretty disgusted and angry.
Only a few minutes later, another customer came in - out of state plates- and asked for a fill-up. I topped off his tank and it came to ten dollars. I rang his gas card through and he went on his way. A couple of minutes later, he stopped back in.
"Are you sure it was only ten dollars?", he asked.
"Yeah, look, see? The pump still says $10.00" (No one had been in since he left).
He pointed to the other side of the pump that read "$14.00".
"Are you sure it wasn't fourteen?"
"No, no, I'm sure I pumped your gas from this side..."
He scribbled on the gas card receipt, stuffed it in my shirt pocket and said:
"There's my name and address - if you come up short, let me know and I'll send you the four bucks".
You could have knocked me over with a feather.
3 comments:
I don't remember all of that...some of it, like the guy running out and cleaning the windshield. I have a totally different mindset now and get mad when a gas station doesn't have pay at the pump so I can get gas and zoom outta there.
Hey, I've got a weakness for those old tin gas station signs, but so far I've resisted the urge to buy any. The Franklin Mint in Wawa, PA, had a great display of that kind of thing years ago. I'm not sure if it was a permanent or rotating kind of thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Graphical, motoring history is by far the best kind as far as I'm concerned. I find all old advertising fascinating. It seems like the best way to take snapshot of the zeitgeist of an era - especially car ads.
I also did a very short stint as a gas station attendant, and it was great fun - just the thing for a borderline gearhead kid. I loved the smell of the grease and oil, and just the overall well worn ambiance of an "experienced" gas station. It did provide a great link to the past. There just seemed to be sort of a community feel to the local gas station that is now long gone.
We went to Yellowstone a couple of years ago and actually found a gas station in Muddy Gap, WY that had the old click click gas pumps. It sat in the most beautiful place in the mountains and the scenery was great too. Thanks for bringing back memories!
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