The person who has always answered this type of question for me passed away awhile back. You folks are my next option.
I often see men, almost always in hooded sweatshirts, hanging outside of gas stations. Today it is freezing cold in West Virginia and there were still two young men in the 20’s hanging outside. I don’t pay attention enough to these people to see if they’re regulars. Are they drug dealers? is there another rationale reason for people (grown men) to hang out in front of gas stations?
They’re not what they seem. In the tongue of Mordor they are called Gazgûl - or Gasoline Wraiths. They are tasked by Sauron to hang around gas stations seeking to snatch the One Winning Lottery Ticket to Rule Them All from unwary customers. They’re also known to be exceptionally fond of bad coffee and Hostess snacks.
I have gas stations in my neighborhood where people are hanging around by the door to the store. They will come out to your car while you are filling your tank and ask for money. They size up each person, and I think they know when to avoid contact, when to politiely ask and when to intimidate. In short, they are working the station area, looking for any opportunity to make money. There may well be other less obvious things going on (sex, drugs, alcohol), as well, but I don’t want to know about it. Once I learn that a station owner allows their business to be worked in this manner, I find another station where this isn’t happening.
It is exactly because of people like MTGuru that the person in my life gave me the Doug type answers to my questions. Mostly, I wouldn’t even have to ask the questions, he would just tell me what was going on. And very definitely, he would tell me not to talk to those type of people at all. I guess that’s why they don’t bother with me now. I may not know what’s going on but they can tell I’m not a viable target.
