“Hello?”

“Hey”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing. So, listen to this.”

“I’m all ears.”

“What?”

“I said, ‘I’m all ears’.”

“Ok?”

“It’s an expression.”

“I know. It’s just a lame one.”

“So sorry to offend you.”

“Anyway, as I was saying, the other day I’m getting gas and I noticed this well-dressed Asian woman over by the air pump machine. She’s standing next to a nice Mercedes and she’s kind of scanning the cars and people by the gas pumps. She looks kind of frantic and begins walking over to the car closest to her. Immediately, I, along with several others, recognize that she’s coming to ask for something. It’s sort of like when someone is walking through the parking lot hitting everyone up for change and everyone puts their guard up.”

“Yes, I know the feeling. Like, when you’re preparing yourself to say you don’t have any money to give them.”

“Exactly. It’s like that feeling, but much less threatening. So, the first car is a girl who’s probably in her 20s. The girl kind of shrugs off whatever the request was. The Asian lady then looks at the remaining cars and we make eye contact. At this point, I’ve reasoned that she needs a jump and I’m not going to be the dickhead who doesn’t help her.”

“I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks. Anyway, she approaches and explains that she has a flat tire and asks if I can help her with the air pump. I tell her that I’ll come over once I’m done filling up.”

“Just a model citizen.”

“I do what I can. Anyway, I go over and quickly assess the situation. She doesn’t have a flat tire, but rather she has a tire that is low on air. She knows this because the dashboard computer alerted her of the problem. It’s the type of thing most of us drive around with and I explain that it’s not a big deal and that she can make it home. She doesn’t love this answer and is still nervous. It’s clear that she is an affluent woman, but one that is also a bit helpless in this type of scenario.”

“That’s mighty opinionated of you.”

“It is. It’s also correct. She’s in an $90,000 car but has never put air in a tire. I explain that the pump costs money and that I need her card to pay for it. She looks at me like I’m scamming her and says she just needs air in the tire. I explain that I’m not asking for money, but that the machine requires payment.”

“Would you have accepted a tip if she gave you one?”

“No, I just wanted this to be over and done with.”

“Sure.”

“Anyway, she reluctantly gives me her card and I swipe it and get the air pump turned on. I begin filling the tire and she’s standing over me. Not like she’s observing and trying to learn how to do it, but like she’s making sure I don’t steal something. Like the way a store owner would follow around a sketchy teenager browsing the aisles.”

“Hey, she just wants to keep you in line.”

“Yeah, she’s really on top of it. At this point, it starts to drizzle. So, not only am I helping this seemingly unappreciative lady, but now I’m also doing it in the rain.”

“You’re a good man.”

“Thanks. So, at this point, she comments that it is raining, but also comments that she needs to get going and says it as though I’m holding her up. This whole time she’s acting like I work at the gas station and the tire service is part of my job description.”

“Well, were you taking too long?”

“To fill up her damn tire? I don’t know. What’s the normal amount of time for that? I really want to just walk away, but resist the urge. I realize this is an entitled, snobby woman who has had things done for her for so long that she doesn’t even realize how far removed from normal life she really is. If I were to abort and explain her lack of appreciation, she wouldn’t understand what I was talking about.”

“Again, you’re being awfully judgemental of someone you just met.”

“I’ve seen more than enough to base my judgment on. Anyway, I’m trying to finish, in the rain, and she goes to the back of the car and pulls out an umbrella. Finally, I realize she has some humanity but this idea is short lived when she opens it and returns to stand over me, but only keeps the umbrella over herself. No hint of moving it a foot forward so that it would cover me as well. Not for a second. Just her, under an umbrella, standing inches from me, crouched in the rain, filling her semi-deflated tire with air.”

“Sounds like you received a good reminder of life’s pecking order.”

“That I did, my friend. You are correct there. I finish, screw the nozzle cap back on, and tell her I’m finished. She does say, ‘Thank you so much’, but it’s over her shoulder, with zero eye contact, as she’s walking back around her car to the driver’s side. That was it. She started the car and I walked back to mine with my wet shirt and weakened faith in mankind.”

“All in a day’s work. Well done, my friend. You did the right thing.”

“If you say so.”