Small Town Moments

Tales from a small town, moment number 1:

Before I write this moment down, it’s of importance in noting I’ve lived in large cities for the past decade – Philadelphia, PA and London, UK. Now that I’m back in Ohio, I’m very slooooowly coming to the realization that I live in a rural area – despite being 20 minutes from downtown Columbus. You’d think the daily commute of driving past several farms would tip me off, but no…but alas, I digress. Onto the small town moment! 

1. I pulled into the local petrol / gas station the other morning to fill my tank. When I got out of the car, I looked for the area to insert my bank card to pay in advance…because that what we all have to do these days, right? Except I couldn’t find ANYTHING! Surprised, I looked around, thinking I had missed it somewhere. And then I looked at the other pumps, thinking mine was out of order. Nope! This station operates on an honor system. When was the last time you’ve seen that!?! So I filled my tank and kept making a mental note over and over to not get straight into the car and drive off. When I was finished, I walked into the gas station, still feeling a little uneasy. I approached the counter with a slightly embarrassed feeling and said "um…I’m at number 5. I do pay in here….right?" The attendant was amused and said she gets people trying to find the payment option alllll the time. Honestly, I can not remember the last time I was able to fill up my tank without having to prepay first. Amazing. Just amazing! The owners rationale is simple – get people into the store to buy more things. I buy that… I almost bought myself a pack of M&M’s but resisted. At least that time around! 

I’m sure I’ll have more moments but needed to get that one down. Oh, it was classic. I guess you had to be there.