I pulled into the gas station today and saw liquid flowing from under a car. It wasn’t raining, so I went to the pump and sure enough gas was overflowing from their tank while people were sitting in the car, oblivious to the danger. I ran over and told a woman their pump was overflowing and was still running and she said, “Yes, I think it is.” She looked at me as if she didn’t know what to do.

Just then the driver sprinted over and shut off the pump. He must have seen it as he came out of the store. There was a river of gasoline running across the parking lot and the store immediately started their environmental cleanup.

A few minutes later, I’m in the checkout line and the infamous driver is in front of me asking for a refund for the gas that overflowed. By his logic, he shouldn’t have to pay for that gas as the pump malfunctioned.

I was flabbergasted. By my logic, walking away from the running pump means you should pay for all the gas as well the environmental cleanup. Even if the gas pump failed to stop, you should have been standing there to deal with it.

If you’re not responsible for your choices, who should be?