… About Not Letting An ‘Unreturned’ Gas Can Stop Us From Helping People

Wednesday afternoon there was a knock at our front door. I was in my usual working location and “condition” (sitting on the couch in my PJs with my laptop in front of me) and Rob was in the basement. He heard the knocking and came upstairs, knowing I wasn’t going to answer the door. By then there was a second knock, so whoever was there wasn’t going away.

Rob answered the door and went outside to talk as I peeked through the open door. I saw a youngish couple (probably in their late teens or early 20s) and he was doing all the talking. I was suspicious and trying to listen but couldn’t hear anything — our doors and windows really are soundproof! A few minutes later Rob came back in and said they had run out of gas just down the street and needed a gas can. We have a gas station across the street, so I asked Rob why they didn’t just get one there. He said he asked that, but the guy said the station was out of them. It’s not impossible to believe that a store could have an item be out of stock, but I still was a bit suspicious.

Without even hesitating, Rob decided he was going to help by “loaning” them the two-gallon gas can we use for the lawnmower. The can only had a tiny bit of gas in it, but Rob told them they could have that and borrow the can. They guy said he would knock on the door when he brought it back and Rob said just to leave it by the front porch. So they went away and Rob went back downstairs and I went back to work.

But over the course of the next few hours poor Rob and I kept peeking out the window, waiting for the gas can to be returned. And waiting, and waiting, and waiting… We tried to remain optimistic, making all kinds of excuses for them not returning it. Maybe they forgot which house it was. Maybe they were on their way to a concert at the fair and would return it afterward. Maybe they left it at the side of the road.

It’s been 48 hours now and we’re still waiting! Obviously we know it’s not getting returned. At least they thanked Rob a lot when they took it! We don’t care about the gas can — it ends up Rob didn’t like how it poured and he wanted a new one anyway. Instead, it’s about our faith in humanity. OK, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. Actually, it’s not.

Rob and I like to help people when we can — usually just in little ways, but help is help! We’ve learned through the years that when you loan something out, especially to a stranger, you have to be prepared not to get it back. So although we don’t care about the gas can, we do care that so many people out there can ask for help and then turn around and “spit” on you for helping. Sigh.

No matter what, we’re not discouraged from helping other people in the future. We lost a gas can but “won” some good karma, right? And it also taught me that I make Rob watch too many crime/forensics TV shows, because the only thing he was worried about was that he didn’t remember what the couple looked like enough to give a good description to the cops when they traced the can back to us after it was used to burn a dead body! He was kidding, of course. Well, I think (hope) he was.

At least we tried to help someone. Best case scenario, they made it home safely on the dollar-worth of gas that was in the can. Even better, when they see the can in the future they will think of those kind people who helped them, and then have to live with their shame of not returning it. (Yeah, right.) The worst case scenario is still good — we’ll be on TV! (Crime show voiceover: “A local couple provided the criminals with the gas, not knowing the mayhem that would later ensue.” Cut to interview with us: “They looked so nice… We were just trying to be helpful!”)

And I didn’t have a picture of our gas can, so I found the one above that looks just like ours (minus the snow) by Strupey via Flickr Creative Commons.