| Well, they don't exactly stack the candy and beer outside where we can stop, load up, and drive off easily without paying like we can with the gas. A lot of people do drive off, and business owners gotta do what they gotta do to stay in business. So, what I've done for my own convenience is buy my gas at one of the few remaining locally-owned mom and pop stores as often as possible; the kind with fewer glaring lights, less selection of inedible "snacks," non-pristine bathrooms (though those are now rare everywhere), etc. The guy who's always there knows me now so I just park, wave at him, he turns on my pump and it's just like the good old days (except for the price). He's also let me buy some gas within 1 minute of closing time (after he'd already locked the door) when I really needed to get on the road in a hurry, so being a regular at an independent local business can really pay off.
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The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort- Paulo Coelho |