Desperate Times

We were driving a new car, and couldn’t be sure just how far into the red we could get, on the last day of our trip when we noticed how close the gauge had come to Empty. The question was, could we make it the last few miles, or should we try to find a gas station in the middle of the night.

Though it would further drain the tank, we decided it was best to turn in at a little town and hope for the best. What we found was this – a single, credit-card-only gas pump set up with nothing else connected to it. Except a porta-potty.

What a relief! And since we were back in the states, our credit cards would work. But what an eerie feeling to come into a place where there is no sign of another living soul and find something like this.

A few weeks after we got back, I mentioned the place to my wandering son. He knew exactly where I was talking about. Apparently he and his friends got stuck there for three days while hitchhiking. They slept under school buses just down the road from the gas pump. The woman at the diner was very nice to them and gave them leftovers. He remembers the place fondly.