Wednesday, November 14, 2012

When E Doesn't Really Mean Empty


My husband,  bless his heart, likes to push the envelope.   (Where did that phrase even come from??!)    Let me clarify.   He's not a big risk taker in most things . . . just when the gas tank says empty.   In his mind, empty doesn't really mean empty.   Even when it's PAST empty.   It just doesn't mean it.   It's just teasing.   When he sees the "E" on the gas gauge, something happens in his brain.  I don't know what it is.  A man thing, perhaps?   He sees it as a challenge.   Him against the "E".    It's personal.   

When we were first married we were still living in SoCal.   I had a VW Cabriolet, white, convertible, so so cute.   I loved it.  Anyway, that's not the point.    One weekend we drove it to Las Vegas, top down, singing along with the radio, enjoying the ride.    Until, that is . . .  the tank said "E".   Not too many gas stations in the desert.   We passed one, then the next.   I started to get nervous.   My husband?   There was a crazed look in his eyes - - reminiscant of Jack Nicholson in The Shining.   We were still probably 20 miles from Vegas.   I had driven there lots, and I knew there were no gas stations  from that point on.   It was starting to get dark.   Creepy things come out in the desert at night.   Animal AND human.   He said, "Don't worry.  We'll make it.  I promise."   Fortunately, the highway is slightly downhill for the last 20 miles or so.   After putting the car in neutral, we coasted the rest of the way into Sin City.   Heart pounding like crazy, a thousand silent prayers, my imagination working overtime.  But, he kept his promise.  We made it.   No desert creepy things ate us.  As we pulled into the parking lot of our hotel, I wiped the sweat off the palms of my hands and uttered a final prayer of thanks.  But there was a look of smug satisfaction on his face.   We had been married less than a year . . . I knew this wouldn't be the last time I panicked and he relished the challenge!   Husband - 1.   "E" - 0.

This morning as we were driving to work, I glanced over and saw the gas tank past "E".   Sigh.   I hope he gets gas before he picks me up from work.

25 comments:

  1. Ha, actually I did that once. My husband made me pull over but I kept saying "oh, we'll make it, we'll make it." Luckily he did what he did because we actually wouldn't have :-)

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    1. I've never run out of gas. I don't think I want to :)

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  2. This is so funny. It's always been me that ran out of gas, not because I had some challenge in mind, but because I don't ever remember to actually look at the gauge. Our present vehicle chimes and lets me know how far I can get with what's left in the tank.

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    1. Our car has warning chimes too, AND it tells us how far you can go - - it should have something that yells "YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR!!!!"

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  3. Too funny! Who can ever understand men? ;)

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  4. The '61 Chevy my hubby had in the early years of our marriage had a defective gas gauge, such that when it said you had 1/4 tank left, you were actually running on fumes. When he went to Nam, my father-in-law would drive that car from time to time, but no matter how many times I warned him about that gas gauge, he wouldn't fill up in time, and we'd end up pushing her to the gas station. Now, all these years later, my husband and I never let the gas gauge fall below 1/4 tank.

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    1. You guys are smart! Do you still have that car, by the way??!!

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    2. No, she's been gone got a lot of years. However, we've seen one almost identical at a local car show... same color and everything... but the owner wasn't amused when I asked if we could sit in the back seat for "old time's sake." (the old poop)

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  5. That is so funny! My husband is the exact same way. It must be a man thing!

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    1. I'm thinking twice about the man thing, considering some of these comments!!

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  6. Thats funny Judy. My husband is the complete opposite. Plans everything. I on the other hand WOULD run out of gas. Like your hubby, when I see the E light up. I think "not really, I can go 2 more miles or 10 more".

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  7. LOL!!! Russell drives his tractor trailer with the E light on from Cape Cod to Schenectady all the time, thanks to the price of diesel. I literally will FREAK OUT if mine comes on and I try to never let it get that low.

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  8. So, did he get gas before picking you up from work?????

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  9. I actually run out of gas once. A while ago, during winter. It was not fun!

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    1. Was this since I've known you??? It surprises me that you ran out of gas - that's not like you :)

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  10. This is my son! He is determined to ring every drop, every fume, out of the gas tank. He's run out of gas once, and it still hasn't made a difference. If anything, he's worse! He says now he knows where the line is that really means empty.

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    1. Yes! My husband ran out of gas once too but it was just around the corner -but he said the same thing as your son - "NOW I know it's real limit"!!! Oh brother!

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  11. I start palpitating heavily as soon as I see it nearing the E!

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