The Way We Aren't.

I've been driving around for the past couple of days with the little yellow gas light blinking on my green and grey Volvo. Stopping for gas can be a real pain in the butt because even though there are a million gas stations everywhere, only a few of those offer reasonably priced gasoline.

I usually use the Gas Buddy app from the Google Play Store in order to locate stations with a good price. By the way, I am not affiliated with that app in anyway. However, I do believe that it is extremely helpful in saving money when buying gasoline.

Source: Pixabay.com

I found myself at the local gas station down the street with the nozzle in my tank watching the numbers spin. 45 bucks for a full tank of regular. It was 30 bucks to fill up that tank last month. Gas prices have been on the rise.

My tires look pretty dirty and I can see that there is grime on the windshield. I'm really ripe for a car wash. That's another ten bucks and things haven't really been looking good over at my restaurant lately.

I couldn't help remember how things were when I was a kid. Going to the gas station meant you would get a free car wash after so many fill ups. You would always find a car wash attached to a gas station. Any gas station. I haven't seen a car wash attached to a gas station in a really long time.

I then remembered how fast food places would give you thick plastic cups that you could collect. Our kitchen was full of Star Wars, Hot Wheels, and a variety of other useful cups that we got for free just for going out to buy food at McDonald's and other spots.

Nowadays if you do happen to get a novelty cup, it is a piece of crap that will fall apart within a month or two.

I even remember getting free plates at various gas stations and hotels. Free forks and spoons too. My grandmother used to collect spoons in a large wooden cabinet. I bet a lot of people have grandmothers that did the same thing.

The world was interesting and everyone was ready to give you something free.

The grocery store used to give you a free cookie from the bakery every single day.

Life was really enjoyable.

So what happened?

My grandfather worked a very menial job. Nevertheless, he was able to support he and his wife in a large house with tons of money left over without working overtime.

Where is the free stuff?

Where are the menial jobs that are high paying?

I look around and I wonder where the joy in life is because it seems as though everybody is scratching so hard for that dollar that you can't even go into McDonald's to get a free cup of water anymore.

Water isn't free.

It makes me sad to think about the past.

Not just because of relationships lost, or things that I didn't make happen.... because of all the different ways that the world seemed better than it is now.

Most of those ways involve money.

I wish there was some to fix it all, but it just doesn't look like we're on that track.

I can't help but think about....

The Way We Aren't.