General Category > General Discussion
Running Out Of Gas - Does This One Count?
Bill Havins:
We had a long and exciting weekend - we bought a new car after test driving almost everything in the world. Well, not really everything, I guess. It just seemed like it.
We had been shopping for about three weeks and, in all of the hubbub, I had put many miles on the Guzzi running back and forth to dealerships. I hadn't paid any attention to the trip meter or the low fuel light.
This morning I sat down with my coffee and the paperwork from the sale. I was doing my "due diligence" and was concerned with one of the numbers in the sale contract. "Hmmm...," I thought. I needed the hand-written notes we had made to double-check my concern and I knew they were in the glove compartment of the new car - it was in Judy's parking space downtown. "Better go look," I thought. So I donned my riding gear (56° at the time), backed the EV out of the garage and headed off.
As I was approaching the first stop light on the route I looked at the trip meter. It read "149.8" And there to the right of it was the glowing low fuel light. "Oops!," I thought. I hit the turn signal and headed straight for my favorite Shell station.
I made it about a mile (the station was in sight) and the engine began to power down - ain't engine braking fun when you're on a busy 4-Lane? I coaxed it to the corner running on one cylinder and made the right hand turn at the stop light - the Shell station was half a block away. As I tried to get the engine to accelerate it died, right in the middle of the entrance to one of Abilene's busier supermarkets. "Oh crap!," I thought. "Do I park it here and let it get run over by a little old lady in a Buick or...?" I tried to start the engine and it caught on one cylinder. I feathered the clutch, made it into the left turn lane, and gently coaxed the bike up the inclined drive into the Shell station. Just a few feet more and I was beside a gas pump....and the engine died deader than a mackerel. I tapped on the tank with my knuckle - it sounded like a steel drum....empty.
So, here's my question. Since I made it to the gas pump without having to push the bike does this count as "running out of gas?" The reason this is important is I am always having to remind Judy to check her gas gauge. I have never "officially run out of gas" before. And if this one is "official," I'll never hear the end of it. ;D :( :P
What do you think?
Bill
rocker59:
You made it to the station. That's all that counts! ;-T
I'm actually more worried about you waiting to perform due diligence AFTER you signed a contract.
Due diligence is an investigation or review done PRIOR to signing a contract...
cruzziguzzi:
One perspective:
You had to dramatically alter your travel and potentially endangered yourself. So, yeah, it's "runnin' outa gas".
Another perspective:
Your inherent maleness correctly interpreted the signs, devised a plan of compensation, successfully adapted to ever changing circumstances, and arrived under your own power.
MOST IMPORTANTLY HOWEVER
You were not in a position to seek out help or encumber others due to a lack of foresight.
In this light, you most certainly DID NOT rum outa gas!
Todd.
Bill Havins:
...due diligence to demonstrate I am a dedicated worrier who sweats every detail at least three times even when it makes no difference. ;)
(It's not "perfectionism" - I don't always get it right.)
And the dealership had done everything correctly.
See? Being a worrier can put your reputation at risk...or...maybe not. Maybe my actions just reinforced my reputation...or... Oh, never mind!
Bill Hagan:
OFGS, Bill, what car did you buy? ???
Nice work on the on-fumes-only glide onto the runway. ;)
Bill
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