Gassed-Up

I had a friend once confide in me she can’t stand to fill up the gas tank of her car. We were having a beer and I can’t recall how the subject came up, but will forever remember this friend giggling her way through the tale of how excruciating the sight of that LOW FUEL light was on her dashboard.

There was so much involved at the gas station, she said. The way she had to swipe her credit card, respond to those stupid questions on the display screen, and then wait and wait and wait through the slow tick of the pump. The way she told the story with a series of exhausted sighs you’d think gassing up her car could eat up the whole day if she let it.

I wondered if she drove a gas guzzler? Something with a huge tank that took forever to fill? Nope, she sported a Nissan something-or-another that was light on its feet. The trouble wasn’t the time, really, it was the vision of all those cars whizzing past the intersection while she was standing still. Her mental to-do list multiplied inside her brain with every moment she stood still.

Problem solved, though. She never filled up her tank anymore. The amount of fuel she purchased was determined by how long she could stand to just stand there.

With that abrasive sense of teasing I fall into with some of my closest friends I told her this whole gas pump obsession was really, really crazy.

I thought of her bar-stool story the other day as I was out running errands. I stopped to fill up the tank of my car and looked at the crowded gas station islands. How there wasn’t a single person just standing still. Eight gas pumps. Eight people with cell phones attached to their heads. Mine included.

I considered the time obsessed undercurrent to our lives. The whole idea being that we’ll double-up or cut the corners of the unimportant tasks with the intent of more fully focusing on that which is important. But my mind gets hooked on the rush of crossing lots of items off some master to-do list. So much so that the slower, more intentional, actions that were once the prize of the whole set up become an annoyance.

Don't get me wrong: I'm still a list maker and I still get a zing from crossing things off the list. But I'm working on that other part. That part where I give something or someone my undivided attention. There are occasions and people that deserve nothing less.
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Dinner Line Up: Feta Cheese-Veggie Burgers, Spinach & Strawberry Salad, Sweet Potato Fries with Sea-Salt
Currently Watching: Building Big (PBS)
Recent Events: McK took me to see the movie Inception and I've had creepy, cool dreams ever since.
Weekend Soundtrack: Man of the Hour (Nora Jones)