Just Wanted to Wash My Car

So I like to have a clean car.  That's really not a bad thing, right?

The other day, we were going to Abilene so I thought OK, I'll go to Walmart, get gas, and use the car wash at the Walmart.  Now the road construction around the Walmart intersection is quite extensive.  In fact when I'm there, I like to go out the back way from Walmart to avoid the construction.

So I get my gas and pay for the car wash at the pump. Pull up to the car wash with my receipt and punch in my code.  All is well except there is a car in the wash so it tells me to wait.  As we wait, I notice the car in the wash bay is one of those Kia Souls.  I commented to Susan, "That car has lots of soul!" She chuckled.

As I looked down to continue waiting I hear Susan, "Is that car suppose to leave yet?"  I looked up to see that the Kia has indeed pulled forward.  It's wheels up and out of the wheel hump.  But the washing mechanism is still moving from the back to the front of the wash area with water squirting down to where the Kia used to be.  Then...the Kia realizes that the wash wasn't finished and begins to reverse it's path. Being very careful, the Kia begins to back up. It's going very slow because it's an awkward maneuver.  So it is taking several tries to get the wheels back up and over the wheel hump.

By this time the washing has finished.  My part of the wash tells me to proceed into the bay.  About that time the Kia finally gets it's wheels back up and over the wheel hump.  And you guessed it! The wash thinks it's me.  So the car wash begins.

I don't take this very well.  "What are they doing?"  Susan just replies, "Oh my!"
"Hey!" "THAT'S MY CAR WASH YOU'RE GETTING!"  "Move out of the way!  That's my wash!"  The Kia just sits there.  Taking on a second wash for free.

Susan tells me to calm down. "THAT'S MY WASH!"  She tells me to stop ranting!

"I"m not ranting! I'm venting.  Ranting would be me going up there and waving my arms and knocking on their window."

"So what are you going to do?"

I'm going to sit right here and wait for them to come back here and pay me for my wash.  My attitude does not improve as I sat there watching that Kia get MY car wash.

Finally, my wash finishes.  The Kia moves forward, again. Going very slow to take advantage of the blower to dry off their car.

I continue to sit there.

The Kia pulls out of the car wash and turns sharply and stops the car.  I continue to wait right where I'm at.  The Kia just sits there.  "You need to come back here to me and pay me!" I yell.  The Kia just sits there.

Finally I decide to just pull through and go up beside the Kia.  Susan begins to panic, "What are you doing? You can't go through the car wash!"  I said, "What's going to stop me? Certainly not the water or the brushes!"

So I begin to pull forward.  And just then...the Kia pulls forward and up to the office area of the gas pumps. There's no room for me to pull up there.  Frustrated I pull around the pumps and see the person getting out of the Kia.  It's an older lady and she can barely walk. She has no business driving!!!

I don't know what she thinks Walmart can do so I just pull out in frustration.  Now understand.  This all is happening in a relatively short time.  I'm really frustrated.  So as I pull out I realize I'm pulling out into the construction area.  The only way to go now is down the access road where you have to go about a mile just to get back on the interstate.  So now I'm frustrated with this new development on top of the wash.  Yes, I'm still venting.  Susan is still chuckling about the whole thing.

I finally get to the on ramp for the interstate and notice a car in the right hand lane.  Thinking it would pull over so I could have easier access, I continue to accelerate.  But you guessed it.  That car just stays in the right hand lane.  No one was in the left lane.  It just wouldn't move over.  Now I'm running out of lane so I have to slow way down. "MOVE OVER!", I'm hollering, "Can't get my car washed. Can't get on the interstate!"  and Susan is just laughing at me.

But I'm determined to get even with this jerk.  So I floor the accelerator, pass the car and WHAM!  A dove flies into my windshield!  So now I'm yelling, "Oh great! And now I've killed a bird!"

Between laughs Susan says, "It's a good thing you didn't wash the car."

Grrrrrrrrrrr.