10/6: In Colusa, a small town in the middle of the valley, we decided to fill up on gas. I went into the gas station shop to ask if there was any place nearby where we could buy pancakes, but when the very fat woman behind the counter just said no and looked at me disdainfully, I decided to just pump the gas and get going.
Things rarely go according to plan. When I had inserted my creditcard into the gas pump twice and only gotten an error message as answer, I went into the small shop again to pay at the counter instead. At first, the very fat woman seemed annoyed with my handling of the gas pump. Apparently, I had chosen the wrong payment option for my type of card.
Very well, I asked if I could pay her instead. But I wasn’t sure how much this rental car of ours could carry, so I said I wanted to buy gas for $60. Right after saying that, though, I remembred that that’s what we payed the last time. So, just to be sure, I asked if I could change the ammount to $55 instead. She looked at me like I was the most annoying person in the world and said no, she had already pushed the charge button.
No matter. I went out, started pumping the gas and, believe it or not, a couple of cents after $55, the pump made a sound to tell me that the tank was full. Pretty funny, thought I and went into the shop again to ask what we should do about the extra money.
The fat woman behind the counter just looked at me, got a lok of pure hatred in her eyes and said: “Not you again!”
I barely got to explain the situation, before she opened the register and took out a five-dollar-bill. Then she turned to the next customer, as if by treating me like air, I would disappear. I was so baffled that I just walked out and returned to the car.
I still don’t understand what in my behaviour made me deserve such a reception in Colusa. I was all smiles and slightly stupid tourist. Nothing to provoke such aversion. I just have to conclude that people in Colusa are extremely rude.
Katja Malmborg 