Bob the car wash manager guy

Bob lives in Coralville Iowa.  Five months ago, he moved there from Maine.  He manages a Laser Wash Plus.  Laser Wash Plus is a place to wash your car.  It has 8 bays with power washers.

I met Bob last Saturday afternoon.  I was waiting for a bay to open up.  There was a line of cars waiting at each of the open bays.  I went to the sixth one from left to right and waited.  There was a guy washing his Mercedes in that one and a couple of cyclists waiting to wash Jingle cross off their bikes behind Mr Mercedes.  All the other bays already had at least 2 cars waiting.  Except for bay 4, which was "Out of Order"

Five of the Se7en working bays were being used to wash bikes.  Everybody washing the bikes was still in their muddy skinsuits.

I was also there to wash my bikes.  But I was in regular clothes.  I had gone to the hotel and showered before going to the car wash.

So Bob was walking around, marveling at the spectacle that was the aftermath of Jingle Cross Saturday.  He spotted me and said, "There's some sort of bike thing going on today."

I thought he was joking.

"Never seen anything like it.  I have to keep cleaning up all the grass. It clogs up the drain.  It's a real mess.  I don't mind though.  Pays the same."

"Yeah - it's some muddy races down yonder a speck," I said trying to blend in.  I had no idea what I was doing.

"Oh you know about it?" - Now I was sure he was goofing with me.

"Yeah I raced today."

Then Bob looked up to see my bikes on the rack behind my car.  The realization hit him.  Hard.

"But you're so ... clean."  He really said this.

"Yeah - unlike these guys, my bikes are a lower priority to me."

Bob seemed to think that was funny.  I knew he was a little bothered by "cleaning up the grass."  He said he wasn't. It was all in a day's work and so on, but I know I would be annoyed by it.  So I instinctively separated myself from the others, even though I was about to leave as much grass as the rest of them.

"Tell you what", he said, "Do you need soap?"

"No.  Just water."

"Bay 4 is closed off because there's no soap. Otherwise it works fine. Drive around over there and I'll get you in."

It always helps to know somebody.  Bob did me a solid and I won't forget it.

Maybe next time I'm in Coralville, I'll mow his lawn or something.  Then clean the mower at the car wash.  It could happen.