Josef sat at the piano
He had set his hands on to the keys but was not playing
At nine in the evening Hank Miller checked the cans of oil that were arranged in order on the rack between pumps two and three
Rachel was hanging a print on the wall opposite her husband
And yes I am having difficulty my love but do start playing your new piece
Hank Miller had owned the gas station for twenty-one years and each evening after he had had supper in his tiny office he checked the cans of oil
Sing Dover
Sing Dover
Sing Dover
Rachel was admiring the fire grasses that grew in abundance on each side of the road
Hank Miller was a small man who had been declared medically unfit for the army
Do you think Hank Miller gave the gas pumps female names such as Jessie Betty and Marge?
How should I know?
Hank Miller had indeed named the three red pumps
But he did not share their names
Rachel climbed down from the chair
There what do you think Josef?
It looks good
What is it called?
Gas
Gas?
Yes Gas
It was painted in 1940
The gas pumps stand out like red sentinels
But what of the road it vanishes into the dark woods
Do you think it is an allegory?
Possibly
Life and death meeting at the gas station
Maybe
Get back to your piano
Hank Miller spent twelve hours a day at the gas station and although business was on the wane he made a comfortable living
It’s all over my sweet Dover
Move over you are finished now
Is that your song?
If only it was
What do you think happened to Hank Miller?
Nothing exciting
Did he have a girl?
Yes but she died in a boating accident
He led a secluded life at the gas station then
Seems so
Was he ever robbed?
Not to my knowledge but he kept his late father’s gun in a drawer in the office
But he never had to use it
Legend has it that Bonnie and Clyde stopped at his gas station but they did nor rob it and only purchased some gum.
So Hank Miller met Bonnie and Clyde
So the story goes
But he did not know who they were and like many customers he watched them as they drove away into the darkness of the woods
Hank Miller was found dead in his office on the 12th of June 1951 by a couple of teenagers on a date
He had suffered a stroke
The same condition had killed his father in 1919
I think Hank knew that he was ill
Why do you say that?
Because for the last two years of his life he changed his route home
Really
Yes instead of turning left out of the gas station he began to turn right
Sing Dover
Sing Dover
Sing Dover
It’s all over my sweet Dover
Move over you are finished now
Inspired by Edward Hopper’s painting Gas (1940)