[AT] OT: Seasons greetings at the Gas station

Dean VP deanvp at att.net
Sun Dec 4 23:50:21 PST 2005


We had over 8" of snow here Friday night. Our rural 22 home development was
locked in due to our steep and winding entrance road that is over a 1/4 mile
long. Saturday the sun came out with temperatures right at 32 degrees. Out
came the JD 750 Diesel tractor with blade and I cleared the entrance road
just in time for the remaining snow residue to melt off before it froze
again. Cleared about half of the neighborhood's mile and 1/2 of asphalt
roads. All of a sudden there was a flurry of traffic. Lots of smiles. That
was all the reward I needed. 

Today, I was at the gas station and was rewarded again by having nearly a
full tank in my diesel truck when the pump stopped at $75.00. I chuckled a
bit how we humans can be so easily satisfied. Raise the price of fuel double
and triple then reduce it by 20% and we are happy. While waiting for the
tank to fill I recalled when gas was less than $0.20 a gallon, an attendant
filled the tank and washed the windows and checked the oil as well. Maybe
even checked the tire pressure if we asked. Something is inherently wrong
with this picture. 

I also watched a very frustrated lady for a second or two; she was dressed
to nines in very high heels, trying to put air in a low tire on her car. She
was not succeeding. I walked over and helped her. She even allowed me to.
The valve was leaking but after filling it up, it quit leaking. I suggested
she should get the valve replaced soon. She didn't quite comprehend why I
used a little spit to check the valve. She was near tears and was very
thankful. Another reward.

Then I saw a family with two young children filling up. They had a nice,
relatively new, SUV with a huge Christmas tree strapped to the top of the
vehicle. The kids were so excited and were babbling about getting it setup
and decorated. Their eyes just sparkled. The parents were happy too. So....
Lots of things have changed but the spirit of Christmas is still around. I
was rewarded to share their happiness. 

So to each and all of you, have a joyous holiday period and enjoy the little
things like I got to do in the last two days. Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year!

Dean A. Van Peursem
Snohomish, WA 98290

Forbidden fruits create many jams!

www.deerelegacy.com

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