the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Things I miss

No, this isn’t one of those sentimental posts that’ll bring a tear to your eye (I could be wrong, though I can’t imagine how). In trying to come up with such a post, my mind drifted to items and phenomena from years past. Here’s a small sampling of thoughts that wove their way into my head:

The Subaru Brat
These little Japanese pseudo-pickups graced the American roadway (especially in the late 1970’s to mid-1980’s). They struck my fancy for a while (between the ages of, say, 10 and 13), mainly because of those two rear-facing jumpseats outside the back of the cab—the decisive factor in staking out its superiority over the tacky little VW pickup—well, that and available 4 wheel drive.

I only recall seeing riders in the jumpseats once, about twelve years ago while heading west on I-80 somewhere between Hazelton and Bloomsburg. It was two children, strapped in and waving at the people driving behind them. Yes, I waved back.

When being asked for your ID at a bar or convenience store was (sort of) a compliment
I walked into a convenience store yesterday and saw a sign that said, “WE CARD UNDER 40.” I remember when they barely carded 21 year-olds—now they’re carding up to 40? I even thought it was a bit odd when I started seeing signs that stated you’d be carded if you were under 27, and then it moved to carding anyone who looked under 30. I just wonder what’s driving the elevation of this standard. Are we following the Homeland Security trends that may someday have us showing photo ID before we can leave the house?

Paying after you pump
This one almost does bring a tear to my eye now that I think about it. So it’s come to this. It used to be that pre-pay for cash customers was a policy relegated to the middle of the night and gas stations in bad neighborhoods. Now unless you decide to use a card to pay for your self-serve, you either have to get less than a fill-up or you have to make two trips into the store—one to pay up front and the other to retrieve your change. It’s just annoying. And a bit more annoying is when a gas-peddling establishment tries to suggest the policy exists for some reason beyond the fact that they expect only the worst from you, the customer.

Conveniencismo—an irrational sense for convenience stores of being ever more vigilantly in compliance with underage drinking laws by carding people of ever higher ages. “Oh yeah? Well we card up to 50!!”

As for paying after you pump, I feel for you. Surely there are some stations that still allow this antedeluvian practice. Perhaps this blog could become a clearinghouse for such information?? And readers could thus be assisted in patronizing such stations.

Of course in “full-service” (and wonderfully anachronistic) NJ, you actually have the chance to become “a regular”, and therefore become trusted by your neighborhood service station attendant.

The customer is alway right …. as long as he is a customer and not an armed thief I guess.

Whew… a Brat? Are you kidding? File that car next to Pontiac Aztec. Ugly.

Carding is a major pain in the ass. But it could be worse. I remember going to Hooters for lunch with my dad. He ordered a beer, and I ordered a Sprite. The girl asked for my ID. I explained to her that I had not ordered a beer, but a soda. She was so in the habit of asking for ID, she didn’t think to not ask for ID.

The Wawa gas stations in Montgomery County allow paying after you pump. Not a problem. But paying with plastic is sooooo much easier.

I always wanted a Subaru Brat. For a short time, I dated a guy who had one, but I don’t recall any particularly fun moments in the Brat. He also had a 67 Mustang which we took to a Dead show and came out to find the windows broken and our stuff gone. Not so much fun.

And if you travel out to the far reaches of Chester County, into Lancaster County, you can still pay for gas after filling up your tank. It’s true.

Wawa must have a different policy in your part of MontCo, Alex. In Horsham, they had pay first only (last time I checked)—and Wawa’s the one that really got under my skin, because they started circulating the leaflets to which I was referring. And yeah, paying with a card is easier for me too, but the subtext is what gets to me about it.

And I guess someone’s bound to have a bad word to say about the Brat, but comparing it to an Aztec? -that’s just cruel… besides, they had those jumpseats!