DNR Car

Sometimes it does things to
let me know it is old and tired. One of the more recent tricks is not letting
the back doors be opened. It might just be that that the doors need greased,
but I think it doesn’t want to take passengers. It is elderly. It won’t go up
hills, it coughs in the rain, and it is getting gray (really – the red paint is
ashing over).

But last night it reached
a new low. I took her to get a big ol’ tank of gas (the first time since
november 17th, i might add) and she wouldn’t take any. i kept pulling the
little lever to pop open the little gas door, but it wouldn’t open. I tried to
pry it open with my keys but it still wouldn’t open. I got the old guy at the
next pump over to pull the lever while I tried to pry it open, but still
nothing. She is REFUSING FLUIDS! I probably would have given up, except this
was one of those annoying gas stations that charge more for credit card payments
(something I had never seen before I moved to California) and since I am cheap,
I fed it a $20 bill. so i couldn’t just cancel without going inside and trying
to explain to the attendant that I didn’t need change but rather all of my money
back. Which i tried to do. It is a bad time for a language barrier. Somehow,
I was at the only gas station in the berkeley not filled with yuppies or
students, but instead with hillbillies. Yes country folk. with accents and
everything. A pick up truck had unloaded while i tried to get my money back
and they were inside buying mountain dew and snacks. Now you wouldn’t think
that very many hillbillies can fit in a pick up truck, but it was one of those
ones with way too many wheels and 4 doors, so there was about 5 of them. They
heard me trying to get my money back and took this to mean that i was incapable
of pumping gas. So they started to offer to pump my gas for me. i believe they
referred to me as a ‘little lady’ several times and apparently thought that i
just couldn’t get the gas cap off, but they managed to break some tiny plastic
piece and open my gas tank. yay hillbillies! so i forced about 8 gallons into
the old girls. that will buy me about 2 more months of
driving.