Running on Empty

If your car runs out of gas and there is no one around to witness it, does it really happen?  Unfortunately in my case, my best friend was along for the ride and my embarrassing mishap, which I will now relate to you, was caught on camera.

We've rented a house in Chatham, Massachusetts for the week and this is being written from the comfort of a vacation rental couch.  My husband and I drove up on Saturday afternoon and to our surprise, even though it was the beginning of a busy holiday weekend, we didn't encounter any traffic.  As we made our way into the quaint downtown and searched for the location of our rental, I realized that my gas light was on.  I thought about stopping to fill up, but we were anxious to get there and get settled because my two good friends were meeting us there and were going to spend the night.

The next morning after my friend Karen had left, my friend Lindsey and I decided to drive to the beach.  As I drove around, I realized the gas light was still on and I probably didn't have much time left.  After a brief stop at the beach, we were on our way to the grocery store and then it happened - I felt the familiar hiccup that signaled my car was running out of gas.  "Oh no," I said.  Lindsey looked over and asked "What?"

"I think I'm running out of gas," I said, but I was actually positive that my car was going to stall out any minute.
"Dude, what do you mean you're out of gas?" asked Lindsey.
"I mean, I'm out of gas," I said as my car stalled out and we coasted to the side of the road.

Usually when I run out of gas I am alone.  This time, it was a little less comfortable with someone else in the car wondering "what kind of a moron runs out of gas?"  But that is what is great about Linds, we've been friends for 22 years and there's probably no one who knows me better, other than my family.  As soon as the car rolled to a quiet stop, Lindsey started hysterically laughing and then proceeded to take pictures.

I pulled my AAA card from my wallet and called the Roadside Assistance hotline.  Word of advice: if you call AAA, be prepared to wait.  I was told I would be called back once they located someone in the service territory that could bring me gas.  Not prepared to wait, I told Lindsey we should probably just get out of the car and start walking.

We got just a few steps down the road when we saw a house that had a lawnmower in the driveway, both of us thought "if they have a lawnmower, they probably have a gas can."  And it was just our luck that they did.  The man who answered the door was friendly enough, but I know what he was thinking - "what kind of moron runs out of gas."  I agreed with him.  I carried the nearly 7 gallon can back to the car and we filled my gas tank.  I also promised to refill the gas can and bring it back within a few minutes after we filled up my tank.

There are two morals to this story.  One - always fill up your gas tank before the reminder light on your dash goes on (after all - what kind of moron runs out of gas?)  Two - be lucky that you have friends, best friends, in your life that will laugh with you through uncomfortable situations and not judge you.

Thanks Linds!