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So...after my usual looooooong day at work, I am on my way to do some errands...pharmacy for needed meds, bakery for gluten-free bread, 51-flavors for much needed shot of creamy Cappaccino Blast and department store to pick up video tape for CSI recording (so I can write tonight instead of watching). It is a lengthy list of errands for someone with a sore throat and a long day behind them...but I stiffen the upper lip and point myself at the caffeine.

Midway in my journey, traffic stalls a bit. I wait through two lights and nobody has moved. Finally, the line begins to creep along...and I see we are shifting over into the turn lane, facing off against oncoming traffic to go around an S.U.V. (don't get me started) that is stopped in the middle of the road at the edge of the busy intersection. There is a lady standing there in traffic and with no flashers on her SUV, I believe she's going to be smooshed any minute. I roll down my window...thinking I will tell her it would be a better idea to go stand on the sidewalk, her SUV isn't worth dying for...and I hear her ask the guy ahead of me for gas. AHA! I think! There's a bit of irony...the SUV ran out of gas.

I drive on...but keep looking back at the woman...all alone...in the street...SIGH! So, I pull over at the first gas station to fill up my gas can. I figure I can go back and see if the man got her some gas and if he did...well...my gas can will be full. But the things is...I have a new gas can. I've yet to use it. And I don't know that it has an inverted funnel inside the mouth of it. A handy feature YES...but...not when you are trying to fill the can and don't know.

GASOLINE...sprays all over me...my lovely Land's End driving coat...my work clothes...my shoes...I am anointed, if not in oil...then, certainly, in a petroleum product.

Cursing the luck...and the moron who put the funnel in the business end of the can rather than in the other end. I return to the intersection...no sign of the car. So...now I am calling myself names and I'm also burning just a little (not because I lit a match but because the gas on my skin is starting to eat my skin away..and yes, I did wash off with the station hose...but I really need a bath). I get in the turn lane...and VOILA...I'm stuck there...FOREVER. Because the woman with no gas...has her car across another road, blocking me from turning into the cross street. Still, she has no gas. I am a good Samaritan. I call to her to hang on while I find a place to turn around and come back. It takes a good long while for any of the speeding motorists to let me back into traffic, and then I have to park and walk back to her. Meanwhile, the cops arrive just as I do.

They focus their attention on why, exactly, WE (me and the SUV woman) have parked in the middle of a road. I try to explain that someone must have helped Ms. SUV push the vehicle off the main highway and I was just driving by and saw she was in trouble. She doesn't really try to explain...and this is when I notice that the woman is in seriously rough shape...looks like she's been beaten up pretty badly...and she's got a car with no gas...and she's trying to avoid the cops. They are thinking drunk or domestic dispute and wondering just what my part in all this is. Luckily, I manage to convince the cops that I am just some idiot Samaritan who came back with gas after passing the lady. After a few more suspicious questions and a look that said they doubted my sanity...they let me leave.

So...here's my question: Does anyone know how to get gasoline smell out of cloth car seats and clothes? What about off of your shoes? Will I ever be able to light a candle again...or will I just have to curse the darkness?

Rae

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-26 02:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sideways.livejournal.com
in my experience with gasoline, i've found that no matter how many times you wash your hands, the smell stays for a couple of days. it sucks. it goes away eventually, but not right away. i don't know about clothes though, i hope someone else does!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-26 03:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dualbunny.livejournal.com
Lots of ideas on Google, but not having tried them myself, I'm not sure which would be best. I might give some white vinegar a shot?

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-26 03:24 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
I looked up Ask.com - they said gasoline is an oil, you have to use an oil to remove it - use baby oil, put it in the wash, swish it around a while, then wash with detergent. I admire your writing and your effort to help out a complete stranger.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-26 06:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] webeh.livejournal.com
Wow. Rough day. That sucks...

department store to pick up video tape for CSI recording

I know this a completely random comment, but the writing on the normal CSI is way better than it is on the spin-offs. I stopped watching the show a few years back and only recently began watching again because of curiosity about Liev Schrieber. Unfortunately, I began watching CSI: NY too (I developed crushes on some of the guys there) and whoo, what a difference in the quality of writing.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-26 07:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] padawanpooh.livejournal.com
I have no idea how to get rid of the smell of petrol but major hugs for you going so out of your way to help this woman: we need more good Samaritans out there...

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-26 08:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ruisseau.livejournal.com
Murphy's Oil Soap and your bathtub.

That's from a friend who works on jet propulsion engines.

This is SO important. You can't wash your clothes in a washer until the gasoline is out. And you definitely shouldn't use a dryer until it is. You could start a fire!

I would try Febreze on the car seats. If your shoes are mostly cloth, you can try soaking them with your clothes. You can also try Febreze on them. They may be a lost cause.

Get your coat cleaned professionally. It sounds expensive and it may have fabrics in it that need extra care. For that matter, if your work clothes aren't denim, cotton, or cotton-poly, you may want to get those dry-cleaned.

GOOD LUCK!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-26 08:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] keswindhover.livejournal.com
Other people have good advice re the cleaning, so I shall just say good for you on trying to help. My mother would have approved.

Good idea...let's blame your mother... ;->

Date: 2007-01-26 01:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rabid1st.livejournal.com
...for my embarrassing and potentially flammable incident. No...I'm kidding...I'm happy you think such a fine person would be proud of me. I don't know why I felt like such a dip about this last night. I did help someone, she hadn't solved the problem on her own like I kept telling myself she would. But all the time I was covered with gas, I kept yelling at myself for being "stupid." I should cut myself a break for not knowing there was a funnel upside down in the gas can opening (who would guess that?). It wasn't like I was excessively clumsy or something. That can was booby-trapped.

And thanks to everyone's research maybe my coat can be saved. My denim skirt and shoes may be finished though.

Rae

Thanks, Hlynna

Date: 2007-01-26 01:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rabid1st.livejournal.com
That's great advice. Tell your friend I appreciate the help. I do think I will take the clothing to be professionally cleaned. The shoes are a lost cause. The car...I'm not sure about. I keep thinking about those warnings about using a cellphone while pumping gas...BOOM! I think I'll keep my cellphone off for awhile.

Rae

Hey, Bunny

Date: 2007-01-26 01:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rabid1st.livejournal.com
Thanks for the suggestion. A few people came up with some good ideas...should you ever have this same problem. Though my advice is check the gas can for funnels before you try to pump gas into the thing.

Rae

The original CSI is the best...

Date: 2007-01-26 01:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rabid1st.livejournal.com
...I don't watch the others. I've tried but I keep coming back to the core team. Hopefully, last night was a good episode...though until Gris comes back...I can afford to miss it and watch it later.

Rae

I would ask to hug your pooh bear...

Date: 2007-01-26 01:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rabid1st.livejournal.com
...ala Eight in your icon...but I would get him all gasoline soaked. Then none of your icons could light a match.

Thanks for the support and good wishes...but I think I will leave the Good Samaritaning to people with more experience at it.

Rae

(no subject)

Date: 2007-01-26 02:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kammgirl.livejournal.com
Oh Rae you are such good person. Almost no one would go to the trouble you did. I csn't help you with the gas smell, but your kharma is golden after all this.

Re: The original CSI is the best...

Date: 2007-01-26 07:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rainblows.livejournal.com
i completely agree. i can't watch the other ones. that red haired bastard on csi:miami makes me want to murder something with his terrible delivery and one-liners. asld;kfjla;ks.

Re: The original CSI is the best...

Date: 2007-01-27 06:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] webeh.livejournal.com
I can't watch CSI: Miami at all either. However, I've developed some bad taste by watching CSI: NY. The writing is mediocre (like most procedurals) and so are the characterizations. However, I just can't get over how hot some of the cops are on that show.

As for CSI: Las Vegas, I'll admit I don't find much of the cast all that attractice physically. What attracts me to watch are the character personalities. I love the characters. They're definitely more fleshed out than the ones on the other CSIs.

Re: The original CSI is the best...

Date: 2007-01-27 07:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rainblows.livejournal.com
i have only ever watched one episode of new york. i just... couldn't handle it. it's really quite bad, lol. although these hot cops you mention intrigue me...


the characters are so amazing in csi vegas. i love them so much. as for hot factor (besides captain brass and his sexy, sexy self, lmfao), i certainly wouldn't kick gary dourdan (warrick brown) out of bed. rowr! not sure about the rest of the cast, though. also, marg helgenbergerwerhfdghjysdrfcebty (catherine) needs to stop with the plastic surgery. she's starting to look like a fembot.

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