A shy woman delivering a lost wallet to the attendant.

Gassed

A shy middle-aged woman walked at a moderate pace across the hot concrete pad toward the station attendant.  She held something leathery and brown in her right hand.

“I found this at the pump.” She said while reaching out to hand it to the young man wearing a bright vest.

“Thank you!” He said with a smile.  “I’ll hold on to it for the owner to come and claim.”

At the same time, a preachy man, dressed in a cotton, vertically black and white striped jumpsuit, stepped away from the adjacent gas pump to exclaim, “Thanks for keeping our town the great place it is!”

The shouting caused her to glance over at the jail-bird-like-dressed-man and then back to the attendant, before turning and walking bashfully back to her car. Then, as the preachy-man shifted his tirade toward his personal crusade she got back in her car and drove away.  Her work of kindness was done.  Or, so she likely thought.

Less than two minutes later, a man with a worried look on his face and hast on his mind approached the attendant quickly.  He began to open his mouth upon stopping in front of the brightly vested man.  But, he didn’t have time to utter a word.

The attendant had already completed the puzzle that stood before him, so he said, “Is this what you’re looking for?”

The anxious man changed instantly, right before the eyes of all who were paying attention and in the process of purchasing gas.  His worry was gone.  His harried demeanor vanished.

“Yes!”  He almost whispered in gratitude.  “How did you?”

“A good woman brought it to me a couple of minutes ago.  She found it on top of the pump.”  He responded.

“Thank you!” The grateful man replied as he turned and walked toward his recently gassed car.

That’s when the jail-bird-like-dressed man drove past me; his car filled with fuel and his mouth was seemingly out of gas.

I pushed the pump’s nozzle back into its place, turned the cap tightly on my car’s tank, and smiled at the attendant standing next to me.

“I’m sorry for that guy’s rant!”  The attendant said, while standing next to me.

“Thanks.”  I said.  “It doesn’t matter one bit.  What I’ll remember is the image of that shy woman walking to you, across the hot concrete pad while holding that leather, brown wallet in her right hand.  And, I’ll never forget the relief displayed on the owner’s face when you returned it to him.”

One honest woman made a difference.  Her unselfish act provided relief to one who needed it.  

And, for once, the rest of us felt less gassed.