The end of an Air-a
The local Get Go has gotten rid of free air for your tires. It was a nice ride while it lasted.
I went in to the store to buy a pop and asked, even though I already knew the answer, if people were complaining that air was no longer free. The clerk assured me they were.
Way back, I'm thinking the mid-80s, my dad pulled into a Shell or Sunoco in Middletown (I don't remember which station ... he does to this day ... he's now 90) to get gas and air. They had installed a pay-per-use air pump. He got back in his car and drove the short distance to a locally-owned place (one that likely still had a garage attached) and got gas/air there. For the last 40 years he's not gotten gas at Shell (maybe Sunoco) unless he's had not other choice.
I likely won't take position with Get Go. Having said that, I'd always driven just a little farther, if needed, to get to this station just because they had free air even when I didn't need air ... you know, just out of appreciation. I'll likely get gas as the closest station now.