Gas(Vignette)
“I don’t understand. The gauge says...” he pointed “...I can drive 32km more.”
They had run out of gas. He called an Uber, left and then soon returned with a container of gas. But the container was not meant for gasoline so it did not have a spout. The Uber driver was helping and he cut off the bottom of a water bottle. They put the lid side into the car and used the bottle as a funnel. It was at this time that the traffic policeman arrived. The officer observed as they got most of the gas to go in the right place, and then with the smell of what they spilled strong in the air they shook hands and spoke amiably. We then left the spent gas container and water bottle on the side of the road and drove off.
“I can’t pay the Uber driver now, because the policeman is still there. So he will go ahead and then I will meet him there” Uber is not legal in Jordan.
Then, on the side of the road, a soldier waved them down.
“Is he? Is he waving at us?”
They pulled over, and the soldier asked a question in Arabic.
“He wants to know if you took any pictures?”
“Huh. Oh.” Looking at the soldier and gesturing: “No pictures”
They drove on, entering a roundabout.
“The Czech President is in that building with the soldier, this is why he asked about pictures.” he said.
Then they saw the Uber driver pulled to one side in the roundabout, so they made another loop around and stopped beside the car to pay him.