Errand Day switched from Thursdays to Friday this week. We went to the casino on Thursday. Nothing to report about that. The Pony was having an out-of-town friend come for an afternoon visit Friday, so we planned our errands for noon. Then it all went to Not-Heaven in a handbasket.
Mid-morning, The Pony texted that the friend was having car trouble, and the visit was off. So we switched to 1:00 for the errands.
Later-morning, The Pony texted that lower digestive system issues would be putting the kibosh on joining me for the errands.
I left an hour later, because I could. It was only about an hour earlier than our regular errand time.
Five miles from the Mansion, at the roundabout by the bowling alley, I got behind a semi truck that had just exited the highway. The back of the trailer was emblazoned with STUDENT DRIVER. I will say that the student took the roundabout swimmingly. Stayed in the lane, didn't run up on the fancy brickwork in the middle.
The Semi seemed to only have one speed. 20 mph. As if there were no other gears available. When the speed limit was 35, we went 20. When the speed limit was 45, we went 20. When the speed limit was 20, we went 20. That dang truck was going my way. ALL the way. I know where the parking lot is where they practice parking. I would be going right by it on my way to get gas at Casey's.
I could take no more! I changed my course, to avoid a stop at a stop sign, and waiting for the student driver to find that 20 mph gear again. I took a detour down past the middle school near Bargain House and Cheap House. Ironically, the speed limit through there is 20 mph.
I went to Country Mart first. No issues there!
THEN it was time for T-Hoe's gas. I chose Pump 4, because the last three times we've been there, Pump 3 (the only one available those times, near the handicap walkway) was having issues. Like you can't click the automatic notch on the nozzle, becaue it keeps turning itself off. And you can't even stand and hold the nozzle handle to pump, because it does the same thing, no matter how much you lighten your grip pressure. It takes FOREVER to squeeze out $50 worth of gas. Which is just slightly over half a tank for T-Hoe.
The minute I stepped out from under the gas pump roof to walk inside, rain started falling. Heavier and heavier. In fact, when I got inside, the clerks commented on that sudden downpour. Like, where did it come from? That rain was even heavier when I had to go back to T-Hoe to pump the gas. There was no option to wait. The pump shuts off in a few minutes, and you have to go back inside and tell them to turn it on again, reminding them that you already paid. I had to trudge through the downpour. It was wetter than a shower!
I put the nozzle of Pump 4 into T-Hoe's tank, and discovered that Pump 4 has the same problem as Pump 3! It took over 10 minutes to get my $50 of paid gas into the tank. At least I was under a roof. Which really didn't matter by then, because a couple minutes after I got back to the pump, the rain ceased to fall.
The drive to the Gas Station Chicken Store was chilly. I was soaked through. The worst part was my feet, in their mesh shoes, in my regular socks over support socks, all dripping wet. I tried blowing the air at 78 degrees, but it was still cold to me.
Once home, I stripped off the soaking clothes, and decided I might as well have a hot shower. Which was at an odd time, but most logical.
My scratcher wins were less than my standard percentage. But you knew that, right?
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