[78-L] "Protection" and other problems >

[victrola78s at aol.com]

When I went out to California at age 21 to become a "movie star" back in 1983, I was shocked to see that all the gas stations were pre-pay and you had to give the clerk your $20 bill before the pump were turned on. I was there 17 years, and that became the mindset. Imagine my culture shock once again when I moved to the Indianapolis area in 2000 to find that about 90% of the gas stations are "pump first", then you go in to pay. In general I found Hoosiers to be much more "user friendly" and friendly towards strangers than I ever felt in the Golden State during the 17 years. Only after the 9/11 attacks did you see an increase in pre-pay gas stations. And this was because the per gallon prices went from abou $1.60 to over $3 or $4 per gallon for a long while. There was one Shell station that was investigated for price gouging after 9/11 when they were charging $4.75 a gallon while 2 other adjacent stations charged $3.50. That Shell station "mysteriously" burned down(arson by the owners suspected) and a Rally's hamburger joint is on that corner now. So there was a considerable spike in the "pump and run" gas thieves, to the point where the head of the Indiana State Police, Melvin Carroway, had his picture on signs at every pump warning the consequences of this crime. Ironically in 2006 Carroway was fined $5,000 by the state ethics board for "ethics violations". By the way, Melvin Carroway was quite the opera buff and would sing the national anthem to start some of the Colts games and Brickyard 400 races. As of now, most gas stations still have pump-first policies, though you may find the pumps at the far ends of the lot are still pre-pay(as they can't be see inside by clerks). Also, many gas stations in central Indiana are pump-first until later at night, say 10pm or midnite, when they become pre-pay til the next morning. Current price here is $2.99 for 87 octane regular gasoline.

Dennis "Ethyl" Forkel