Running out of gas - My lucky day
I have only run out of gas twice in my life. The first time, I had been moving from one apartment to another, and I had a very busy schedule. I completely forgot that cars ran on gas. Lo, and behold, as I was driving down the street, my car started to sputter. Dazedly, I looked at the gauges, and sure enough, the gas tank was completely empty. This was in the days before there were red little warning lights on the gauges that let you know that your gas was low.Fortunately, it was my lucky day! The car stopped right in front of a house where the owner was mowing his lawn and he had a can of gas right there. Seeing my predicament, he poured his gallon of gas into my tank and would not take any money. Of course, gas cost about 50 cents per gallon in those days. It was not a major investment like today. I thanked him profusely and went on my merry way - directly to the gas station.
The second time I ran out of gas was because of an accident. I was driving in my Buick Century down a freeway with my son, and all of a sudden, the car in front swerved to the left. By the time I realized why he had swerved, I was on top of a big chunk of metal that probably had fallen off a truck. Clink! Clank! Thunk! These were the sounds that I heard as the metal hit the underside of my car. My tires were OK, but as I continued further, I noticed that my gas gauge was dropping quite fast. I looked back in the mirror and saw a trail of gasoline. My first thought was "I hope the car doesn't catch on fire", as I kept going. There was an exit coming up. I ran out of gas as I entered the exit and coasted right into a gas station that was in the right place at the right time. I was really lucky! The gas station specialized in gas tank repairs. I called a neighbor to give me a ride home and lived happily ever after.
© Copyright - Antonio Zamora
