Pumping gas

It's been a while since I've pumped gas. Living in Oregon the last three years, some buddy outside always does it for you, and when we travel, Everett is always a gentleman and does it. Even the one time I was without him, my sweet sister in law did it for us.
Well I had to do it today. Fortunately, it's a skill not easily forgotten. I even remembered which side the tank was on! As I was washing the windshield and checking the oil, I was remembering a time when someone went above their "pay grade". It was the first time I was tasked with pumping my own fuel, and had no idea what I was doing. I had just gotten my license, and was on my way home from class.
I'm the kind of person that hates to ask for help. I learned from my Grandma Jessie that, "if anyone can figure out how to do [it], I can too". It gives us pride to be able to be self-sufficient and independent; but this was scary to me. I knew from >plenty< of experience how flammable gasoline is, and had just learned in drivers' ed. that apparently static electricity is potentially enough to cause a spark, leading to an explosion. Yikes. So here I was with a dichotomy: make my grandma proud and figure it out how to do it risking explosion, or have "no spine" and ask for help for something I know is stupidly easy and risk looking like an idiot.
Well, I went against my nature, and with my chin sheepishly buried in my chest, I slowly marched into the mini-mart and solicited the attendant to walk me through the process. I knew what he was going to say (after he laughed, of course). It would be something he would probably regret saying, because it would highlight the fact that this otherwise normal looking high schooler was a complete waste of skin and didn't even know how to put a nozzle in a hole.
You all already know where this is going, though. I know my veil is thin. He didn't say anything like that. As soon as I opened my self-conscience mouth, he jumped from his stool, and smilingly said, "Well! Let's get you some gas, Young Lady!" He lead me out, and graciously showed me how everything worked, affording me every detail. Then, of course, I felt daft for having been so afraid of simply asking for instruction.

I say all this because this is one of those moments that changed my life. That restored my faith in humanity, if you will - that without judgment, I was helped. There have been a few times when people have quietly supported me and encouraged me, when I didn't ask or expect them to. And this is the type of person I want to 'grow up' to be. Sure, it wasn't anything big, and I'm sure I could have easily figured it out on my own. But I want to be the person in the crowd that listens and engages when there is opportunity. Shoot, just to be able to recognize those opportunities!