He was an old guy who I figured would be friendly. I decided this because when I first saw him, he was walking over to talk to the guy who was driving the pick-up truck at the next stall at the gas station. The second guy was washing his windows and not seeming to pay much attention to the old man.
So the old guy wandered back over to his own truck. That's when I pulled in, hopped out and asked him my question. Actually, I waited a moment before talking to him, giving him time to put the gas nozzle back and figure out how to get a receipt from the pump. It took him a while.
Then he came over to me with a friendly smile. But it was a question, he wasn't prepared for. He gave me kind of a blank stare at first as the smile faded, and after I told him about my project, he said, very slowly, "Well, I'm kind of in a hurry. ..."
Now that was a bold statement -- because if there's anybody I've seen who's not been in a hurry, it was this guy. I told him a prayer would just take a few seconds, but I didn't let him respond. I just told him I'd let him go and would pray for him later. He just kind of sidled off toward his truck, where his wife was sitting in silence waiting. I don't think she heard any of this.
Then I left. I was out of the gas station lot and at the street light when I looked back. He still hadn't gotten into his truck. All I could do was smile and pray for the man who was in a hurry.
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