Invisible

As usual, when things go bad for me, they really go bad. It had to be the toughest situation, requiring wits and a good sense of nerves. So here I was, right in the middle of rush-hour traffic, on a busy street, with frustrated commuters trying to get home for supper and family time. Their patience had already been used up on work events. Disgruntled drivers beeped their horn at me. Why does it always have to happen like this? I wondered, as I quickly worked out plans to rescue my car from this perilous situation. I was in the right lane, at least, so I turned on the flashers, which seemed to increase the sounds of beeps by the frustrated drivers behind me. It was as if I had ruined their day too. I fingered the change in my console, guessing I had enough money to get-some emergency gas.

Fortunately, I had an empty container for gasoline stored in the trunk, in the event of just such an emergency. And there was a gas station a short walk away - I could see the corner of the Chevron sign just around the corner. Whispering a quick prayer that my precious vehicle wouldn't be rear-ended while I was away, I started the short journey.

The gas station was nearly empty. As I picked a pump and set the gasoline container down, one of those huge SUV's screeched to a halt at my pump. I nearly fell to the ground getting out of the way. "Almost got you," remarked the man at the next pump. "Be careful, looks like he's anxious to run somebody over."