Reno Road Trip "They're from Oregon"

1300 miles later, Ryan and I are back from the Unity Celebration for a good friend of mine in Reno. It was wonderful. Surrounded by friends and family, my friends Lynell and Thomas celebrated their commitment to one another in a way uniquely their own. It was far more touching than any wedding I've ever attended. Unlike most weddings in which the guests are there to just wittiness, this celebration was participatory. Guests took an active roll through a toast-giving ceremony modeled after a Hopi tradition. It was reflective of how the couple live their lives and treasure the concept of community. It was truly a moving experience.

The weekend was full of good friends, good times, and good memories. We stayed with my friend Ilka, who was generous enough to let us stay with her despite her being super busy with work and thesis writing. We enjoyed an evening of good food, and live music with her and Henry. Together they entertained us with piano/guitar music while we sipped the last drops of the blackberry wine from last year.

Adventure and laughter was also abound. Ryan, Ilka and I were out on some errands and had to stop for gas (this is where it gets funny). Ryan was driving, and he pulled up to the pump. I attached the hose, started pumping, and then Ilka and I began to walk to the convenience store to get Mt. Dews. We barely made it half way to the door when Ilka began waving her arms frantically and pointing behind me. I turned around to see Ryan driving away from the gas pump...gas hose still attached to my car. It pulled the hose straight off the pump!

Both Ilka and I were stunned, and didn't know whether to duck for cover, or run away. Part of our brains were expecting a big KaBoom explosion. Fortunately, no such kaboom followed, and we watched Ryan park the car in a spot, and continue to sit in the car unaffected. Meanwhile, everyone else at the gas station appeared to have also been expecting a kaboom, and were sighing in relief that none happened. Stunned, I ran to the car, pounded on the window, and began asking frantically what he was doing. He opened the car door, apparently STILL not even having a clue what he had done, and began to get out of the car as I blurted out that the hose was still attached.

He had totally spaced it and had completely forgotten that we were pumping gas. We had not even put in an 8th of a tank when he drove off. I had no idea what to do. Ilka and I went into the store, ordered Ryan to remove the hose from my car, and tried asking the attendant what to do. She was completely useless. "What do you want to do?" she asked. !!!WTF?! At this point, I'm almost expecting the police to show up. Back outside, folks tell us the hoses have a quick disconnect and should just snap back on. Ryan manages to accomplish this, and we still need gas, so we begin again.

Ryan pulls up to the pump, and we try to fuel up. As the pump starts, we're all still half expecting a kaboom, but nothing...and I mean nothing....not even fuel coming out of the pump. Ilka and I head back into the store, (instruct Ryan not to drive away this time), and tell the attendant that the pump now won't fuel. She couldn't understand why. Apparently she had been the only person in the whole place that didn't know what had happened. That explained her previous reaction at least. She sent a guy out to prime the pump. A guy came out, gave us all that look, and began priming the pump. At that moment, in chimes Ilka: "They're from Oregon. They don't pump their own gas. They didn't know any better."

While the pump was being primed, we finished filling up at another pump, and drove off quite embarrassed and laughing nervously. My stomach hurt soooo much from laughter and nervousness. We finally managed to breathe again, finished our errands, and headed back to Ilka's. Of course, to get there, we had to drive right by the gas station. This was about an hour an a half after the "incident." As we drove by, sure enough, there's an "out of order" sign on the pump. Thankfully, it was gone the next day, but it didn't make for a good feeling when we saw it. All we could do was laugh about it. I haven't laughed that hard in a long long time. I had never seen anyone drive off like that before. It comes with a weird combination of fear, and hilarity, all wrapped up in a nervous ball. For one of the first times though, I can say I'm glad to be back in Oregon where you're not allowed to pump your own gas.

(Obviously, this isn't an actual picture. I was waaay to frantic to have the presence of mind to take a picture of my car, with Ryan behind the wheel, and gas hose still attached. But this is a pretty good rendition. I modified this pic to show a VW, not a BMW, Oregon plates, and Ryan waving and smiling obliviously. Priceless.)