Gas, to go

Awhile back, Daughter and I were driving down the street in our fair city. On the opposite side of the street, going the other way, was a red van. As it passed, Daughter noticed something dragging along behind it. She turned around to look and saw that there was a red gas nozzle still stuck in the side of the van, complete with a 10-foot hose.

We happened to be passing a convenience store with red pump nozzles right at that time, so we wheeled in.

Sure enough, the nozzle and hose were completely missing from one of the pumps. I thought I'd have a little fun, so I hopped out of my SUV and went into the store. It was a Sunday afternoon and the two kids working there were sitting on the floor eating pizza.

"Hey, you guys won't believe this, but we just saw a van driving down the street with one of your gas nozzles still hooked to it."

"No way, dude!"

"Way. We stopped here to see if it came from your pump and sure enough, it did. Come outside and I'll show you."

So they put down their pizza and we went outside, where I pointed out the missing nozzle. They fell over laughing. When they recovered, they got on the phone to the manager.

I couldn't help but wonder what the woman in the van did when she got home and discovered her error. Did she swallow her pride and return the nozzle? Or did she throw it in the garbage and hope her family didn't find out?

Daughter and I went on our merry way, knowing full well that it's only a matter of time before I do the same thing. And believe me, when that day comes, I'll never live it down.