Braff Zackton To The Rescue

Well folks, ... I did it again and I have finally got the courage to write about my extrodinary stupidity. Sure anyone can run out of gas. But can you do it twice. Last time I ran out of gas I was on the top of a mountain and coasted 2 miles into Payson, AZ to get to a gas station. I coasted and pulled right up to the pump. Can you believe it? Well, ... not this time.
I pulled into La Junta, CO a couple of days ago for my last stop of the day. I noticed I needed gas but I also noticed some cool things to photograph. I kept taking pictures for almost an hour and started my way back to Pueblo, CO. I looked down when the car started screaming at me and it was flashing "YOU MORON ... YOU ARE OUT OF GAS ... AGAIN"! Neat feature on the Saturns. It said I was out of gas but I was still going for about another mile ... then I was officially out of gas.
While sitting on the side of Highway 50 ... I called Braff Zackton. For those of you who don't know ... Braff is the guy who bails people out of trouble in transport trucks all day long for a living. Braff is my go to guy when I do really stupid things on the highway.
Well, Braff ... started laughing and hung up on me. When I called back I could still hear him laughing and he hung up on me again. The third time I realized I was actually losing power from a cell phone that was empty and he might not be hanging up. So THERE I WAS ... No gas. No phone. Coyotes starting to howl. I was feeling a bit like dinner.
I charged my cell phone for a few minutes while people screamed past me ignoring the old white haired man with his flashers blaring on the highway. I would have had better luck getting help if I parked in the middle of the highway. After enough juice got into the phone I called Braff Zackton again and shouted my GPS cordinates into the phone as he typed furiously into Delta Gas Force. The next thing I know a Colorado cop is looking into my eyes saying, "Sir, Braff called me and said you are a Moron and that this isn't the first time you have run out of gas on a highway". I said, "Uh, that's me. The officer gets me to show him ID and then says he will take me to get gas.
The funny thing is that he was required to "pat-me-down" or "frisk me" or "search me" depending on your taste in being personally scrutinized. I would have killed for photos of me with my hands spread on top of the squad car. In my head I kept hearing, "Bad boys, bad boys ... whatcha gonna do when the come for you".
I was in the back of the squad car when he had to walk around and let me out of the back door at a crowded gas station. I had to buy a gas can inside the store. I felt like saying, STICK em UP! You know, as a joke, but the guy behind the counter was one of the crazy looking Colorado guys that probably had a few funnier jokes of his own that could send me back through the store wondow in some kinda tazed state running from buckshot.
The Colorado State Police Officer was a great help. He just kept smiling at me and looking in his rear view mirror and saying, "Dude, you better not spill that gas back there". Well, I didn't. The officer did ask me if I wanted to wear the cuffs while I tried putting the gas in the car. That was funny.
Well either way. Braff kept me from walking out into traffic during my two hour prayer meeting on highway 5-0 ... so I guess I will live to photograph again. Thanks Braff.
NikonSniper Steve

Basilica Of The Immaculate Conception

NikonSniper 3000 Celebration

Need extra storage space? Make sure you enter this NikonSniper drawing for a Western Digital – My Passport Essential 750GB External USB 2.0 Hard Drive.

That’s right! In the next few months we will cross the 3000 follower milestone and in an effort to say thanks we will host a drawing for a 750GB Hard Drive.

I wish I could give these to everyone to say thanks properly but I haven’t won a lottery yet. I can tell you that the comments on this blog and all over the Internet on your blogs have been very encouraging and indeed humbling. Believe me … I know I am not as good as some of you declare … but it is so nice to know it is appreciated. Many thanks to all of you.

Contest rules are simple!
1. You must be a listed follower of the NikonSniper blog. After the drawing, I will check to see if the winner is in the list of followers.
2. Respond to THIS post in the comments with the request, “Please enter me in the NikonSniper 3000 contest.”
3. Wait patiently. The winner will be drawn within days of crossing the 3000 follower milestone.

YES, you can win if you are in a far away place! The last winner of the 200GB Hard Drive was from far eastern Canada. And that’s like … way out there, EH! So you can win no matter where you are from … unless you are one of my relatives. I don’t like kissin’ yer sister with a favor, so to speak.

Thanks again to all of you who make this blog interesting. You provide the words and meaning to many of the photos captured in my moments on the road. I do not comment on many photos because I like to hear what they mean to you without me explaining much about the photo. You all have a very different thoughts or stories remembered by the same photo and that’s where this blog truly becomes yours too!

God bless you all!
NikonSniper Steve