Yesterday I was at a suburban gas station. Parked next to me was a really old, beat up van. The van was packed as if the people inside were going on vacation. I was sort of curious because the van hardly looked like it wold run and the people inside were kind of confusing. The “parents” couldn’t have been more than 30 and the “kids” were probably between 16 and 18. Maybe it was a church group or something. Anyway, right then the man tried to start the van and it took a looong time getting started. When it finally roared to life I glanced up and caught the eye of the guy driving. He gave me a wink and a nod and a look that kind of said, “Oh yeah, listen to that beauty!”

I was still laughing at that a few minutes later when some shady dudes pulled up in a super ratty van and said, “Hey! You interested in an entertainment center?” I was like, “huh?” and he was like, “An entertainment center. For your house.” I said, “Uh..no thanks. I’ve already got one.” He said, “Are you sure, I’ll give you a good price.” “No thanks,” I said and they finally drove away.

This has really got me thinking. Who buys an shady entertainment system in a parking lot? Someone has to, right? Or else they wouldn’t do it. I mean, even if I could be sure it wasn’t stolen and / or broken, like say it was from a Best Buy van or something, what are the odds that A) I would be in the market for an entertainment system, B) I’d be carrying a large amount of cash with me (they didn’t look like they were set up for credit card transactions) and C) that I’d even be able to haul it home in my car. And why, out of all the people in the gas station, did they single me out as a potential customer? I was dressed pretty decently, I was coming from work, and I was even wearing my badge.

I almost wish I had the whole thing to do over again so I could pretend to be really interested, just to get more information. “Yeah? What do you got? Let me see!” I just want to judge their face to see if they’re surprised, or if that was a normal, expected reaction.

That was one of the strangest trips to the gas station in my life.