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+--- Thread: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This wasted la (/showthread.php?tid=62801)
My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This wasted la - deckeda - 09-25-2008
To understand who he was, you have to go back to another time. When the world was powered by the black fuel. And the desert sprouted great cities of pipe and steel. Gone now, swept away. For reasons long forgotten, two mighty warrior tribes went to war and touched off a blaze which engulfed them all. Without fuel, they were nothing. They built a house of straw. The thundering machines sputtered and stopped. Their leaders talked and talked and talked. But nothing could stem the avalanche. Their world crumbled. The cities exploded. A whirlwind of looting, a firestorm of fear. Men began to feed on men. On the roads it was a white line nightmare. Only those mobile enough to scavenge, brutal enough to pillage would survive. The gangs took over the highways, ready to wage war for a tank of juice. And in this maelstrom of decay, ordinary men were battered and smashed. Men like Max. The warrior Max. In the roar of an engine, he lost everything. And became a shell of a man, a burnt out, desolate man, a man haunted by the demons of his past, a man who wandered out into the wasteland. And it was here, in this blighted place, that he learned to live again...
(Swap out the "last of the V8s" Interceptor for a Mazda minivan low on gas.) I drove 26 miles and back, out of the suburbs tonight for 1.5 gallons of gasoline. (That was the only size gas can I had.) Didn't have to deal with the Gyro Captain, Toady, Wez or Lord Humungus but I was prepared.
On the way home in the van, I said "no" to the BP that was $4.26/gal. despite much of my 39 mile commute with the low-gas light on. Near home, at 8pm, another BP had all 3 grades of gas, starting at $4.14. And lines out the lot blocking traffic.
Got dinner at home No! It's *my* snake, I trained it, I'm going to eat it! I got a recipe for snake. Delicious. Fricassee of reptile. You are what you eat. and went back out in the van. Going the opposite direction I passed 4 stations with no gas. Had to go home before I ran out of juice.
Got in the car --- it had half a tank. Drove north, away from suburbia, away from the chaos. Ruined dreams. This wasted land. Passed a tanker. What is that --- Milk? It's FUEL. If it's all the same to you, I'll drive that tanka.
I could see the Racetrak from the highway, but because the last 2 places I'd stopped were out but still ADVERTISED gas prices Empty! All this time! I decided its "$3.95" sign and seemingly freed-up pumps were too good to be true. But as I passed it, I saw 2 cars --- with pumps attached. I almost did a Jim Rockford U-turn getting there.
2 out of the 20 pumps had 87 octane only. Perfect. Filled up the car --- I'd long ago decided that NOT filling up was for punks. Losers. More ruined dreams. I am gravely disappointed. Again you have made me unleash my dogs of war. No, this wasn't about trying to snag low-priced gas before an expected price bump. I'm just here for the gasoline. Topped it off, and in so doing, the pump didn't shut off. Gas flowing down the side of the car, on the ground. Wonderful. Chalked it up to possibly not having the pump all the way in the filler tube. And so I continued with the reason I drove the 26 miles --- to fill up the stupid 1.5gal gas can.
Back close to home, the BP's Regular is now gone. Still has healthy lines. My journey in the car has taken me over 50 miles, and the van's tank consumes the gas can's contents in less than a minute.
I have an 8am appointment across town, the van is my ride to it, and so to ensure I don't miss it, out again I go, this time in the van to complete the mission. I pull away and of course the low-gas light is still on.
I figure I have 3 gallons if I'm lucky, probably less, and decide to take what I can get at the BP. All that's left is Premium, $4.26. Decided I don't want another 50-mile round trip anytime soon just for 1.5 gallons of gas and decided to fill it up. The BP's pumps were all set to slow flow rates because of the rapidly-diminishing supply, which exacerbated the already long lines.
It also created another issue. When the flow rate on a gas pump has been slowed down a whole lot, its ability to automatically sense a full tank and shut off might cease to function. It wasn't until I heard the liquid pouring out onto the pavement for about 15 seconds that I turned around and could do anything about it. Don't touch please, that's a precision instrument.The irony of spilling so much gas on the ground in one night in a no-gas scenario is well ... I guess it is what it is. And another 1.5 gal for the gas can. I had come this far, afterall.
Went inside to tell the attendant the pump hadn't shut off and that there's a gas spill. Said "thanks, I'll get to it later." I recall that when I pulled up to the pump the ground was already wet and slimy. Didn't register at the time.
Paradise! Two thousand miles from here. Fresh water. Plenty of sunshine. Nothing to do but breed!
I got all I need here.
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - lemmingboy - 09-25-2008
This may be one of the best posts I've read on this site.
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - vision63 - 09-25-2008
Awesome.
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - Carthaigh - 09-25-2008
Listen all! This is the truth of it. Fighting leads to killing, and killing gets to warring. And that was damn near the death of us all. Look at us now! Busted up, and everyone talking about hard rain! But we've learned, by the dust of them all... Bartertown learned. Now, when men get to fighting, it happens here! And it finishes here! Two men enter; one man leaves.
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - Carthaigh - 09-25-2008
Time counts and keeps countin', and we knows now finding the trick of what's been and lost ain't no easy ride. But that's our trek, we gotta' travel it. And there ain't nobody knows where it's gonna' lead. Still in all, every night we does the tell, so that we 'member who we was and where we came from... but most of all we 'members the man that finded us, him that came the salvage. And we lights the city, not just for him, but for all of them that are still out there. 'Cause we knows there come a night, when they sees the distant light, and they'll be comin' home.
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - Greg the dogsitter - 09-25-2008
Now wait there stranger. A man can run and run for year after year until he realizes that what he's running from...is hisself. A man's got to do what a man's got to do, and there ain't no sense in runnin'. Now you gotta turn, and you gotta fight, and you gotta hold your head up high. Now you go back in there my son and be a man. Walk tall.
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - SteveO - 09-25-2008
I know you guys are giving credit where credit is due for copyrighted works, and using it with permission....right?
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - Carthaigh - 09-25-2008
SteveO wrote:
I know you guys are giving credit where credit is due for copyrighted works, and using it with permission....right?
What do you want, Mary? Do you want the moon? If you want it, I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down for you. Hey! That's a pretty good idea! I'll give you the moon, Mary.
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - Carthaigh - 09-25-2008
SteveO wrote:
I know you guys are giving credit where credit is due for copyrighted works, and using it with permission....right?
Come on, Cohaagen! You got what you want. Give those people air!
Re: My life fades. The vision dims. All that remains are memories. I remember a time of chaos. Ruined dreams. This waste - DP - 09-25-2008
For once, I'm not feeling too sorry for you. Here in the Detroit metro area, where we have the highest unemployment rate in the US, highest foreclosure rates, etc., etc., gas is back down to $3.69 for regular with plenty of it. It did spike like everywhere else but that didn't last long.
I am a capitalist but I think the price spiking like it did should be investigated thoroughly as most gas stations had plenty of gas already bought and paid for. Raising the price so high based on a possibility is gouging to me, especially during a period of danger and upheaval.
Fun story, tho'...