Movies? There are the "action flicks", like the latest issue,
then there are those which more closely resemble the
subject they purport to portray.
As a college-age guy between stints in the establishments of
higher learning, I passed some time and made a few dollars as
pump jockey and occasional light mechanic at a Shell station
in Kettering, Ohio. Full service. Fill the tank and check the oil.
Wash the windshield. Smile.
The station was located at a busy intersection, Far Hills and Dorothy
Lane, I think... May have been Stroup Ave. Somehow I have gotten
DL and S mixed up in the intervening few (ahem) years.
Anyway, the place was busy, as was our rival for local fuel and
mechanical/tires trade. That competitor was on the NW corner,
the Shell was on the SE. Along with most of my buds, I was even
then a gear-head, and went very soon after its opening to see
"LeMans". I was really taken by the racing footage, and the
cars themselves.
I dragged my girlfriend at the time to the theater with me once,
went another time with a couple of friends, and took in a late
showing after work one evening.
Because of my enjoyment of the film, what I really wanted was a
poster that was quickly in short supply where it was available. It
featured a shot of the refiner sponsored car and Steve McQueen,
along with the movie title, and I think a small logo in one corner.
The rival station had put one in their front window. Yep, it was a
Gulf station.
I had stopped at other Gulf outlets between work and home to
try and get a poster, but they had none. Either they "never got any",
or "sorry, they're all gone." One station manager said he had some,
but was "giving them to customers who bought something like a set
of tires." I was desperate, but even if I'd had the $, I would not have
been inclined to put new rubber on a car that: 1. Didn't need it.
2. Still belonged to my parents.
Figuring that waiting even one more day was useless, I drove the
Corsa into the rival Gulf on my way to work the day after I first noticed
the LeMans poster on display. In my Shell uniform (remember when
station personnel wore stuff like that?) I walked in the front door and
said hello, then asked if they had any of the movie posters.
The two guys in the place laughed and said something like "Yea,
but why should we give one to you?" "My girlfriend is a real fan
of McQueen..." popped out of my mouth, "and I'd be a real hero for
getting her the poster." (She could have cared less, of course, and
I felt a chunk of purgatory time land on me.) Somehow, that
seemed to soften them a bit, since I wasn't asking for myself, I
guess. Still, they were "almost out", an wanted to know what I
could trade.
I was scratching for any item that would precipitate a transaction, but
they didn't want the car magazine I had out in the Corvair, and turned
down an outright purchase offer for $5. (That was a full tank of gas in
those days, folks.) Apparently they were not allowed to sell them.
The older guy, whose name I have long since forgotten if ever I did
know it, was presumedly the manager. He popped up with the "solution"
that would get something for the Gulf station: "You really want one,
huh? I'll tell you what. I'll give you one on one condition. You work
over there, right?" (He motioned across the intersection) I nodded.
"Ok, you promise me to post it in the front window while you're working
tonight and you can have it!"
Uhhh... After explaining that my boss would fire me and then a bit
of negotiation, we settled on an hour between six and seven, times
when I felt it unlikely that Tom would be at the station. I left the Gulf
station with a rolled unused copy of the poster.
The Sisters at Our Lady of Good Hope had reinforced my parent's
teaching that I should live up to my end of a bargain, so since Tom
had left around 5:30, I carefully taped that poster inside the front
window of the station just before 6. It would make good copy in
these days of "Driven" type hype to say that Tom, the station owner,
had come back while a Gulf poster was on display in his place,
and that I still carry the imprint of his boot on my posterior.
But he didn't. I got busy and could not take McQueen out of the
window until after 7:30.... Washed my hands first, you bet. And
it went home with me that night. After 30 years and jumps all over
this country, I have no idea what ever happened to it. But I do have
some tubes with old posters in them around somewhere. Hmmm...
I wonder....
Alan Sheidler
An extra credit question: Was it the Porsche or the Ford GT40
on that poster?
AX content: The Corvair was my autocross ride in the early 80's
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