'I Have Come Here to Chew Bubblegum and Pump Gas ...And I'll all out of Bubblegum'

There are fewer things I hate more than going to the gas station. I seem to have a penchant for attracting male characters that missed the memo that I'm a single woman only there to fuel Colt, my car, as quickly as possible. No, I won't drive you to Walmart or buy you a meal at Red Lobster. Read about one of my past experiences here. So you can imagine I do NOT go to gas stations at night if random encounters are occurring during the middle of the day. The freaks come out at night, you know. Today a man who was approaching me made it a point to first advise me to smile, despite the fact he was a strange man - with no car in sight - approaching a lone woman. I had noticed him before and saw his approach that included everywhere but inside to the clerk or to a male customer.

I thought I'd provide some helpful tips, if you're not already using them, for women to stay safe during trips to the gas station. It might seem silly, but the gas station is one stop where people, most often women, are vulnerable.

1. Leave your purse in your car.
2. Keep your keys with you and lock your car whether you're using a debit/credit card or going in to prepay with cash.
3. If you crack your windows, make sure there's not enough space to reach in and grab your belongings.
4. Keep your money hidden as you're walking if you're paying in cash.
5. Keep your back to your car and observe your surroundings, or who may be approaching from the sides, as you're pumping gas.
6. Be prepared to utilize your keys or a kubaton as a possible weapon (nothing that can cause a spark or you'll blow everyone's butt off).

Are you as apprehensive about the gas station as I am? What safety precautions, if any, do you take when you go get gas?

Gas Station Phobia

Gas stations and I have a love / hate relationship. I love using my Kroger points to instantly knock off ten cents of the much too expensive gas price, but I hate the amount of times I’ve been approached or hit on by random men. There are too many horror stories of young women being harassed or abducted for me to be Friendly McFrienderson while at the pump. Therefore, aside from a few emergency occasions, I always get my gas during the day.

On Tuesday, I was on the last few gallons of filling my car when I (the hawk eye that I am, always aware of my surroundings) noticed a man pull off to the side away from the pumps, get out of his van, and start looking around. I made brief eye contact a few times to see that he was often looking in my vicinity. When I noticed that he was walking in my direction, I immediately hopped into my car. I figure, I can talk and hear you just fine through a crack in my window, but, really, what is there to talk about Mr. Stranger Danger? Anyway, he relayed to me that he was trying to find $4.00 so that he could get a gallon of gas and get home to his wife. The man, who was Caucasian, told me where he worked, that he wasn’t a weirdo, and that his wife was African American – twice.

........

Okayyyy

I had some money on me and I gave it to him through the crack in my window though I did not appreciate him choosing to approach me, a young woman on her own. In addition, I wondered if there was something about me that made him think that I would only be willing to help him if I knew that factoid about his wife, or if he thought that he presented less of a threat to me having chosen to marry a woman who, for all intents and purposes, “looked” like me. No matter the answers, I think that act of kindness at the gas station will most likely be my first…and last. Safety first my friends.