Okay, so there I was staring at the sewer connection drain at my favourite truck stop wondering what to do. This is the place that I buy my propane from and dump my gray and black water tanks now that the other place (the free place) has locked its sewer connection. I am here at least every two weeks so the people know me here.
I pulled up to the spot to dump my tanks and this is where the conundrum came upon me. There is an electromagnet which keeps the lid for that sewer connection closed. There is a keypad nearby where you punch in the code to disengage that electromagnet lock for a minute. Naturally you buy this code from the store. The minute counter is long enough for you to stuff your sewer pipe into that hole and thereby propping the door open.
Well, there I was staring at a block of wood that had been left there to prop open that sewer door. Sure the keypad was beeping to close the door, but it was already open. What this meant was that I could have just stuffed my sewer pipe in there and dump the quarter tank, if that, of “water” that I had to dump.
The way that the dump station was situated, the gas station office wouldn’t see me. Nobody would know and it wasn’t that much that I was dumping so why not right? After all I have been dumping for free all summer, so what’s the difference, right?
Honour, Honour is the difference.
This place wants you to pay to dump and the other place does not. They do it as a service during the driving season to attract customers. So I trudged into the office to tell them that the thing was propped open and asked why it was.
The reaction I got from the attendant when I questioned him was almost as if he was accusing me of being a deceptive thief. He was talking to me as if I was about to dump for free and gloat about it. It was almost, without saying it, that he was questioning my honour. Let’s review here shall we, I came in and told you that the hatch was propped open, why would I then dump for free and be a thief? Jerk.
So I grumbled and pulled out my wallet to pay. Now the “Regular” price to dump is ten dollars, now that they have the water turned off it is seven dollars to dump. I have a “member card” of some sort that lets me dump for three dollars.
The time before last it was fifty cents. This time . . . full price, seven dollars, my discount card apparently “doesn’t work all the time.” I gritted my teeth, paid full price but took solace that this was the last time I would do so till spring.
It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and insulted. I did, however, satisfy my own expectations of how I should conduct myself. I could have dumped for free when I should have paid, but I didn’t. Integrity is what we do when others are not looking.
So I parked in my usual spot and ran Jenny last night before settling in for a relaxing evening, all bundled up. Then it rained, I shrugged. Then ice ran came for a few minutes (it’s kinda like hail but it is rain that has frozen as it comes down) this changed to snow.
I will admit it, as I went out to disengage the power cord connecting Wanda to Jenny I had my prerequisite hissy fit / stomping feet denial that the real cold weather had arrived . . . It lasted a minute though, then came the sigh of acceptance before I trudged up, still grumbling under my breath, to turn Jenny off and pack everything up for the night.
This morning I had to switch to four wheel drive (high) mode to drive two blocks, as the roads were icy. The reward though was that the black truck that usually parks on the same stretch of street that I do was gone. Usually this black service truck is parked further back on the same stretch of road that I park.
This means that I have to parallel park Wanda while backing up around a slight curve. I have gotten pretty good at it with all of the practice. I park as far up as I can so that one car can parallel park in between us. This morning I could drive forward into the spot in one shot because nobody was there. Oh happy day, things are looking up.
And yes, not that you need reminding (and yes I am mildly gloating) . . .
IT IS FOUR DAYS TILL I AM CREDIT CARD DEBT FREE!!!
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