I love my Smart Car. I love that it’s a little, and cute,
and fun. I love that it gets great gas mileage. I love that it has a ton of
room in the back. I love that it is comfortable to drive. And today I love that
it tells me what my current miles per gallon (MPG) is – and exactly how many
gallons I have left in the tank.
As you know, I’ve
been driving through Kansas – miles and miles and miles and miles and miles of
farmland. And because I like to go off the beaten path, I didn’t stay on the main highway. All of these fabulous places are on little country roads that meander through
the backroads. That was all great fun – until I realized that I was low on gas,
and there were no gas stations on the backroad that I was driving on. So I
asked Sirio (Siri’s British Cousin, and my backroads navigator) to check for
gas stations on my route. There were a few options. So I stopped at the first
one – it was a vacant lot. Hmmm. I pulled up the second one – this one had gone
out of business. Hmmmmmmmm. Third times the charm, right? So I pulled up to the
third one. It was after 5pm, so the office was closed – but I grabbed my credit
card and walked to the pump . . . only to discover that these pumps weren’t
equipped with credit card readers. You can’t buy gas when the station was
closed. (What is this – the dark ages???)
I was now dangerously
low on fuel – and I had no choice but to continue onward – because I had gone
too far already, and I knew there was nothing behind me before I would run out
of gas. So I prayed – I prayed hard –
and I pressed on.
Thank heavens for
the gentle rolling slopes of Kansas farmland – because I could coast down the
hills to conserve on gas – and check my gauge to see how efficient my MPG was,
and EXACTLY how much gas was left in the tank.
My cute little
Smart Car gets great gas mileage – almost 50 miles to the gallon. But the gas
tank only holds 9.4 gallons. When you get down to the last gallon, the dash
lights up to tell you just how many 1/10ths of a gallon you have left. I
watched those 1/10ths of a gallon tick down,
and tick down. Still no gas station in sight. Half a gallon – 0.4 gallons – 0.3
gallons. Uh oh!
Finally, lights of
actual civilization ahead. After miles and miles of nothing but cows, corn, and
farms – well, I was wondering if I’d ever make it back to the 21st century. And
fortunately, near the edge of town: an open gas station WITH Credit card
capability at the pump. WHEW! I pulled
up to the pump with .2 gallons left. And I put 9.2 gallons into my 9.4 gallon
tank.
As I drove away, I
realized my tank wasn’t 98% empty – it was 2% full. It wasn’t that I drove
around for 45 miles and didn’t find a gas station – it’s that I could have gone
probably another 10 miles. It’s not about whether the glass is half full or
half empty – it’s about appreciating that you even have a glass at all.
No, I don’t want to run out of gas – and I’ll
try to keep my tank fuller as I continue on. But the truth is an empty gas tank
would have just been another adventure – and I probably would have met some
interesting people along the way. And that I even have a gas tank (and a car)
and gas to put in it, and the opportunity to have these fun adventures – well,
that’s really a pretty terrific blessing too.
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