service station

daydreams, co-writes and the online store

Apr 01, 2024

I’ve long followed, appreciated and been inspired by Neko’s work as a writer, performer and visual artist. She also instructed me on her approach to making borscht through a video, which unfortunately no longer exists on the internet. I get a lot of compliments on my borscht every fall.

Thanks, Baba Neko. For everything.

I have a long-held fantasy of working in a gas station. Washing windshields. Filling tanks. Selling bottled beverages and cigarettes and lottery tickets. Making coffee by the gallon. Cleaning floors and restrooms with gloves and probably a mask and plenty of distance.

I’d be adjacent to travel. Enabling it. Monitoring it through transactions.

A small town would be preferable. Somewhere I could rent a house and live near a seasonal campground. Carloads of shouting families would pull up. Each child with $5 to spend. I’d witness them as they experienced the pleasure of this indulgence. Would it be a bag gummy candies and a lollypop and gum or would they blow the works on a single ice cream treat?

I would be the one who gives directions. Who tracks the weather for travellers coming and going to their destinations. It would be minimum wage work, but I’ve heard that some people tip attendants. My Québécois neighbour informed me that this is her practice. I‘m mystified that it occurs, but perhaps I would gain insight into the phenomenon.

When I’m at the gas station I always go self-serve. If possible, I pay at the pump too. I have no time or interest to talk to anyone. I do not want your top-up. I do not want my oil checked. I might permit a windshield wash. I don’t have an explanation for this behaviour other than my Aquarius sun-sign aloofness combined with a Virgo rising need for control. I don’t believe in astrology. I don’t not believe in astrology.

If I embark on this dream, I’ll categorize people by their habits. The people like me who avoid engagement will be the Melanies. Most Melanies don’t even enter the building. If they do, they go straight to the restroom. Occasionally, Melanies seek out the hot water tap to make tea they brought themselves. They have expensive to-go mugs. They exit wordlessly.

The Bills like to chat up the clerks. They’re sweet, friendly folks. They tell dad jokes. They know the weather and the roads and will change a tire in the parking lot for a hapless motorist if required.

This post is public so feel free to share it with your Melanies and your Bills.

The Audreys ask a lot of questions. They want exact answers. They’ve done research, so they will correct an inaccurate answer, leading you to wonder why they asked in the first place. The price of gas will be discussed. How it was a few cents more in the previous towns. Interactions with Audreys are awkward. They always want their coffee free with a fill.

The Dakotas come in with more children than can be managed and some will be barefoot. It’s a chaotic visitation. You will be entertained and also relieved when they exit. You will also have to clean the store of spilled slushy drinks and scattered candy.

Megans buy the cured meat. Johnnys put their bring-your-own-potato in the convenience store microwave and hope no one notices.

I’ll see it all and write a song for everyone. The album will be the Graceland of the service station industry. It will practically write itself.

The highway sign’s a beacon,
Shining like the oil spills down below.
I am clocking out the late shift.
I was peddling your smokes and joe to go.

Oh, oh, oh… I’m at the station, station.
Exit 23.
I’m at the station.
Hatchbacks and caravans with families.
We are at the station…

I’ll let you know how it plays out. If you find me behind the counter or the pump, feel free to tip and I’ll pretend not to notice that you used the hot water tap for your tea.

My service station name tag will read “Kitty”. Image by little jack films.

news…
Last summer Blake and little jack visited the Berglund family farm to make a video. They based the narrative around the women of Kennedy who are the lifeblood of the community. The cast includes Blake’s mom and my sisters-in-law.

I’m proud to have co-written this song. One night Blake sent a text from the ranch saying he needed a line for the bridge that followed “Like the elevator against the prairie skies” and ended with “farming wives”.

I immediately texted back “the legacy of farmers is owed to farming wives.”

It’s not always that easy, but sometimes? Sometimes it is.

UPCOMING SHOWS

July 11
Saskatchewan Jazz Festival
Saskatoon, SK
tickets

July 13
Big Flat Folk Festival
Eastend, SK
tickets

one more thing…
Blake built an online store for our label, Western Seer. You can get all sorts of nice things there including a physical copy of his double album, What’s Left of the Right. Also, some first-run Lachlan Neville merchandise. Get in on the ground floor, y’all.