2001-01-30 | 23:23:32

one of my car's tires looked a bit deflated today, so i went to the gas station during lunch to check the situation out, yo. i chose a station that had a full-service island, since most don't nowadays. when i arrived, i realized that they had changed everything to self-serve.

but then i spotted the kindly, former full-service man i remembered who used to pump gas and check tires and smile shyly.

he's about 50, grey-haired and a bit "slow," as they say. he's a gentle bear of a fella, you can tell.

now he just makes himself busy sweeping and volunteering to pump gas for self-serve customers who don't want to get mussed up.

so i says to the guy, i says, "would you minding checking the air in my tires?"

sure, he said. he pointed to the place i needed to move my car and then he checked and filled each one.

"there ya go. they were all about five pounds low," he smiled proudly.

i thanked him and then handed him a couple of one dollar bills for his trouble.

as i gave him the money, he pulled back a bit in surprise and said "oh, wow! thank you."

two dollars got me an "oh, wow!"--now that's value!

i don't remembering saying, "oh, wow!" the last time i got my paycheck. ok, maybe a "thank god!"

though the gas station exchange was a small moment, it had a big impact on me.

i would like to have more of that simple appreciation of life.

more "oh, wows" randomly generated by little moments.

like stuart smalley says, "an attitude of gratitude...it ain't just a platitude..."

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today at girlboy nick is looking for a girl who doesn't mind bad poetry.

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