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Will he come back?

Ellis Kinney

Ellis Kinney

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Ky. 30 miles Southeast of Cincinnati
This morning my wife came home and told me there was a kid out of gas over on the 4 lane, about two miles from the house. I took him a 5 gallon can of gas and told him to fill it up and return it. Gave him a post-it note with my address on it. Seemed like a pretty nice kid. What do you think? Will he return the can? I will update in a couple of days. Ellis
 
I loaned a guy a receiver hitch because he didn't have one. I told him to just drop it off someday when he was around. It was on my front step the next day after work. I had never met him before and do not know his name,he said he lived 20 miles away.
 
Even if he does not it is still good to help others. You might be the one needing help sometime. Just the good feeling you get helping others makes it worthwhile. Tom
 
I doubt you will get your can back. Hope I'm wrong. A young guy ran out of gas at my drive way. I keep gas in my truck. The guy asked me if it's for people who run out of gas. I said no, it's for when I run out of gas. I put a couple gal in his truck. He got in his truck and left. I thought he would at least asked me what he owed for the gas. Not worried about the money, but would have been nice to ask. Stan
 
You are much more generous than I. A drunk spent part of the night in his pickup, in the road ditch, not far from my driveway, on a cold winter night. I helped him a little bit. That experience helped jade my already suspicious nature so that I wouldn't have done what you did. The couple of times young fellows have run out gas near here and came asking, I gave them a couple of gallons and pointed them towards the nearest gas station. {I keep several plastic jugs around which withstand gas} I still remember my 18 year old bride bringing my car home on fumes, and me running out of gas before I could make it to a station!
 
I think he will,but even if he doesn't,that shouldn't stop you from doing that again in the future.I have to ask out of curiosity,why did you leave it with him in the first place?

Rock
 
There could be three reasons for him running out of gas.

1. He is broke. Being broke does not mean he is dishonest though. He might still pay you someday when he gets the money.

2. His gauge does not work. I would put this at a 50% chance he will pay you back.

3. He just did not watch his gas gauge or plan ahead. Maybe 75% chance he will pay you back.

I plead guilty to being a #3. I have had to pay up three times in my life so far. I not only paid for the gas but I also paid for time and expense of getting the gas to me.
 
I have lost a couple of cans that way. I am also very careful about pulling people out of ditches. I ask myself "am I enabling a drunk driver who might drive down the road and kill someone."
 
(quoted from post at 15:30:44 11/18/20) Possible. If anything, your good deed will come around to you in some other form. Seems to work that way here.

Mike
Click to expand...
eturn or not, sure beats the low life that cut my garden hose to try to siphon my gas, but filler neck was too small, so he (they) stole screwdriver from tool box to punch hole in my gas tank to take my gas!!! :x
 
Struck out twice myself. Two females out of gas in front of my place back when gas was over 3 dollars a gallon. Promised they would stop and pay me for it because of nothing but credit cards. Even though I see them drive by sometimes they never stopped. Hate being lied to worse than giving them the gas. Young man under 20 come to door out of gas so I give him enough to get to nearest gas station and he would get change and pay for gas. When he pulled out he went on the way he was headed with station the other way and none for a long way that way. Knew I was lied to again and had.
 
A few years ago when gas was about $4 a gallon a young man came to my house needing gas. I got my can and went to his vehicle and helped him to put two gallons in. He pulled out a wrinkled one dollar bill and offered to pay for the gas. I said never mind. Maybe you can help out someone else one day. P.S. You will not see your can again. TDF
 
Guy came into our place one night, my wife went to the door. Fella told her his car had just run out of gas in front of our place, and could she give him some gas maybe 4-5 gallons so he could get to a gas station. Wife called to me, I came in from the next room. I recognized him as a local thief and a jerk. I told him I didn’t keep any gas, only use diesel and get lost. He walked back to his car, got in and drove off !!
 
I have had it go both ways. At the dragstrip some young guys had a broken car they were getting ready to tow home with a chain. I loaned them a tow strap. A couple months later it came back. On the other side I had a guy try to pass me as I turned left into the farm drive. He went down through the ditch and just missed my truck tore up the horse fence and slide back in the road half on his side. He got out I loaned him my cell phone to call his daughters mother to pick her up. Luckily the daughter was not hurt. He promised to come back later and fix the fence I pulled the van back on four wheels, the mother came and he left for work. Never saw him again and he kept the phone. At least he never used it.
 
Loaned a dude a brand new 950 CC Amp Battery and a set of jumper cables to jump his truck sitting in my driveway. When he got it started he sat the battery and cables in the back of truck. I thought he was going to pull down my long driveway and give them back, wrong, he backed out in the road and disappeared. I wasn't close enough to one of my vehicles to chase him and it probably good I wasn't, I would have shot him. I hate a thief.
 
Welding man .... shot him stone cold dead or just maybe crippled him so he spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair? All for a battery and jumper cables? You're not serious are you? Then again, maybe you are !!
 
I like to think you will get your can back. I've had some poor experience but also good. I will always try to help if I think they are honest. People have helped me when in need so I pay back.
 
I let a fellow use my can, and gas about 30 years ago, he hasn't returned yet, do you think he ever will?
 
Farmerjohn-I 100% agree.I just don't understand why you would do somebody a favor,then expect them to drive all over town to return something yet it's the same thing as them paying you for the gas.I am a bit of a cheapskate,but we are only talking $15 at the most for five gallons of gas,and let alone the fact you are no longer doing them a favor if you expect something in return.

Rock
 
If it was me, I would come back with a full gas can, and perhaps a little extra cash for his trouble and my appreciation.
 
About four years ago in the early winter got a call from an acquaintance said his daughter lived near me and needed gas to snow blow her drive in order to get to work. Did I have any spare gas?? I said yep got two gallons in a can she could have, come and get it...Her boyfriend showed up a half hour later and paid me for five gallons worth...he brought back the empty can couple hours later and said he could refill it but it would be a couple of days before he could get a ride... I said "don't worry about it, we cool"
 
So Hermit, I can just imagine your plea to the judge .... "But he stole my battery" ... as they haul you off to jail for a long stay behind bars. You're definitely fantasizing and imagining yourself as the lead man in a bad comedy movie.
 
Two dogs-Growing up in the 50s-60s we lived on a county blacktop, not many back then in E Ks. Had a pole light. More than a few times in the middle of the nite someone would be knocking on door- out of gas. My DAD always got out of bed and took them enough to get to town. When they ask what they owed, and most did, he always just said-You don't owe me anything, just help someone else when you can. Just one of many good things I learned from that man.
 
Right now the 5 gallon gas can is worth twice as much as the gas it holds. I would have kept the gas can and not worried about the $10 worth of gas if the guy didn't offer to pay for it.

IMHO, if the guy is local or drives the route regularly, odds are very high you that yes will get your can and your gas back.
 
I try to be helpful and kind to folks I see having trouble — with mixed results. Sometimes I’m reminded of the old saying “No good deed goes unpunished”.
 
A few days into 2016, we had a 02 or 03 f150 with a 5.4. The truck would get 230 miles to 250 miles on a trip. With a load, 200 to 215 mpg. To make a long story short. We thought the thing ran out of gas since the gauge was iffy. The house we coasted near. The owner came out after we were there for a bit waiting for a friend and the guy offered some fuel. We took his offer and made it to the nearest gas station. We filled the can back up and returned it back to him. He seemed like a nice guy. Turns out the truck didn't run out of gas, the motor was self-destructing itself we later found out. It was nice of the guy to help out though.
 
We live close to a interstate. Few yrs ago not any stations on it for 50 miles. A young couple walked up. Said they were out of gas. Wondered if I had any. I said I did. They said up front they were broke. I said never mind it's just gas. It was hot. I said I would take them to their car. It was 10 miles even though car was in sight. They needed to go 120 miles. So the 4 or 5 gal might not be enough. I gave them a $20 dollar bill. They both cried. He gave me a big knife. I will always treasure it!. I have lots of stories like that. Got a card from a couple that ran out of gas over a year ago. Thanking us for helping them. But the best story is.this. It was Christmas eve. A good friend and I were sitting out in the shop. Guy knocked on the door. Said he had a flat and no jack or lug wrench. Well my friend said. Stranger you have come to the right place. So we loaded into a truck and drove across a field to the interstate fence and threw the jack across. It was a perfect 4 door 1965 Plymouth Fury. 3 kids and wife were in the car. Got lugs off and car jacked up. He had spare out and attempted to put it on. It wouldn't fit. He started moaning and beating his head against the ground. My friend said. Buddy this isn't the end of the world. We can find you a spare. He said they were going to Louisville. Had left St.Louis this morning in their truck it had quit. And this nice couple had loaned them this car. They wasn't going to make it to Louisville for Christmas. Dinner with his parents. I thought my horse trailer has Chrysler rims. Went back to house and and swiped one. He tried to pay. But with a story like that!
 
A few years back a friend of mine that had a small delivery business always had his employees fill their trucks up with gas every evening before parking them. Someone kept stealing the gas out of them several nights in a row. The last night he waited for them with a 12 ga. shotgun. As they started to leave with the first can, He shot the 5 gal can out of the guys hand. The thief screamed and ran, don't know to this day how bad he was hit. My friend attached the can to the front of his building and it hung there for a long time,but he never lost any more gas. We have ways of dealing with things in my neck of the woods that aren't always right with the law but we take care of them in our own way. I may not have shot the dude but he darn sure would have thought I was going to and I would have gotten my battery and cables back. I seriously doubt he would have ever pulled into my driveway again either.
 
Old Popper, that reminds me of something Nebraska Cowman put on here years ago regarding lending money- "If you loan a guy 20 bucks and you never see him again, it was probably worth it."

Many years ago, I loaned an acquaintance 20 dollars at a farm sale (he said his kids had raided his wallet). I haven't seen him since, and believe me, it was worth it. Total jerk.
 
Where I grew up in South Georgia there was a very red clay hill near our house. When it was wet and slick Daddy would often get his old Allis Chalmers tractor and the log chain and pull someone out of the ditch. (free of course) Another old man I learned a little from.
 
If the bank does you a good deed and loans you a few thousand to buy a few more acres and then expects repayment, as promised, have they, or have they not done a good deed?
 
Ellis-I drove the AA highway to and from work up in Cincinnati from Bracken county for 25 yrs. I often stopped to help people out-more so before cell phones. I have a bunch of stories-some people just had bad luck: like the woman with her 2 very young nephews, who was walking after her car quit after being jumped by AAA and was lost, and walking the wrong way, away from help at 12:30 am, she was in a panic! And some people who just should NOT be traveling- junky car, no money or gas! And a few drunks, too. Good luck, I hope he brings your can back. Mark.
 
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