Yes, it caught my by surprise. I just thought I was pulling in for a fill-up.\u00a0 I wanted to check out the Mobil station that opened in the south end of Woodbury.\u00a0 Nothing could have prepared me for the reception I was to receive. <\/p>\n
A young lad approached my car. He was attired in navy Dockers, a blue shirt with a muted red stripe in it (must be the corporate colours), white round collar, a red bow tie (which I assumed was pre-made), his short blond hair was combed straight back… teeth gleaming white.<\/p>\n
I put down my window.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome to Woodbury’s Mobil Gas Station! How can I be of service?\u201d\u00a0 He may have clicked his heels; but I couldn’t tell from my position behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
My first thought… my what a refreshing throw-back! <\/em>Then my natural cynicism took charge. What’s this kid doing out of school? Tell me he dropped out of school to get this job! <\/em>I wasn’t sure, but it looked like he had been recruited from the ranks of either the Hitler Youth or the Young Republicans. I smiled back, \u201cfill it with regular, please.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight away, sir!\u201d <\/p>\n As my \u201cHummer\u201d (actually it’s Subaru Outback; but I like to pretend that it’s a Hummer) was taking on fuel, he came around to the front, cleaned down my windshield and proceeded to look under my hood. Checked the key connections, looked at my oil and water, shut the hood and wiped any offending smears from the top, \u201cYou’re fine, sir! Would you like me to speed-vac your foot wells and floor mats?\u201d And with this he opened my front door.<\/p>\n \u201cWell… gee.\u201d And before I could answer he vacuumed my floor mats and the edges by the door. I should have asked him if he would iron my shirts and press my boxer shorts. <\/p>\n While he was on my side of the car, he polished the side view mirror and began cleaning\u00a0the side windows working his way to\u00a0the back. I thought about this… Well, this is Woodbury! We have\u00a0First Selectman just like <\/em>New Canaan<\/em> and those other fancy shmancy <\/em>Fairfield<\/em> <\/em>County<\/em> Towns! Hah! I bet they don’t have this!<\/em><\/p>\n My windows done to a spotless shine, he returned, “Would you like a useful road map of the Northeast.\u00a0 They’re FREE!\u00a0 And even with GPS systems, a good map\u00a0always comes in handy in finding places of interest that you may not even know\u00a0existed… like this: Somers Mountain Indian Museum in Somers.”\u00a0 He had a point.\u00a0 I have lived in Connecticut for only 58 years and I never knew that there was a Somers Mountain, or a Somers, Connecticut.\u00a0 But it’s pretty safe to assume that in our small state, at one time the forests teemed with Native Americans… so it makes perfect sense that there would be a museum there.<\/p>\n I declined the map.<\/p>\n He finished the fill-up to the tune of $39 and something, figured at $4.23 a gallon. I gave him my debit card and he asked, \u201cWould like a cup a fresh hot coffee and a\u00a0cinnamon donut from Dottie’s Diner, it Mobil’s way of saying, ‘thanks for your kind patronage!’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI’ll pass on the donut (even though Dottie’s, formerly known as Philip’s, donuts are insane); but a cup of coffee would be nice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIrish Cream or Dark Roast… and how do you take your coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDark Roast, black.\u201d<\/p>\n I’m thinking that on fill-ups you should tip 20% and on partials 15%… and if he offered to press my boxer shorts, or if he could prove that he tied his bow tie, I can see going to 30%.<\/p>\n He returned and handed me the chit to sign, \u201cToday’s weather calls for intermittent showers, breaks of sunshine, a chance of thundershowers in the afternoon and a return to humidity. You have a good day, sir and drive safely!\u201d<\/p>\n So I don’t eat dinner\u00a0for the next couple of nights… big deal! <\/p>\n As soon as Zagat’s hears about this place, you’ll have to make a reservation to get gas! Definitely… 20%<\/p>\n<\/p>\n n.b. I made everything up, except the price of the gas. Oh, and Dottie’s Donuts are<\/u> great.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yes, it caught my by surprise. I just thought I was pulling in for a fill-up.\u00a0 I wanted to check out the Mobil station that opened in the south end of Woodbury.\u00a0 Nothing could have prepared me for the reception … Continue reading