Some Things Never Change

Yesterday I was super low on gas and was sure I was going to have to walk the entire length of the earth to find a gas station. Fortunately, I found one but was astonished at how high gas prices are. I can’t believe that the pump cut-off automatically at $100 and my tank was only half full. The other surprising thing was reading yesterday that fast food workers are going to be paid a minimum wage of $20.00 per hour from now on. Things sure are changing!

When I was 16 years old, I worked at two different gas stations. They were run by two different men who could not have been more opposite. And the things I learned at both places were incredibly important in how they shaped my view of life and my character.

My first gas station job was working 4:00pm to midnight after school. It was a Mobil Station at the corner of Hwy 76 and Hwy 395. Gas was only $35.9 cents per gallon, but then again, my pay was only $1.75 per hour. The owner, Gus, was a rough, cruel man who cussed and drank and beat his wife. (I know that I because I witnessed it one evening.) At that gas station I learned about dishonesty, drugs, alcohol abuse, spousal abuse, and how to cheat customers on pricing and then steal from them when they left their car overnight. Needless to say, I didn’t work there for very long.

The second gas station I worked at was on Main Street in the tiny town of Fallbrook. There was only one top sign on Main Street, only one store in town, and only one gas station. The owner, Eddie Mahr, was the exact opposite of Gus. He treated his employees and customers with a great deal of respect. He even gave me a raise to $2.00 per hour after I was there a few months. I know it doesn’t sound like much of a raise, but it made a huge difference to a lonely kid living on his own. He taught me how to provide great customer service and the importance of being on time, and to always be dressed neat and clean. He also taught me a ton of mechanical skills that I still use to this day. When I quit working for Eddie to head to northern California for college, Eddie gave me a gift of 4 brand new tires and wheels for my truck. That’s right, he gave me a gift… when I quit! But the best gift he gave me was an awesome example of how to treat people right, bringing joy and happiness to everyone around you.

It seems like things have changed a lot in the last 50 years… and maybe not so much for the better. If you do the math, the new minimum wage is 10 times more than I made in 1972, but gas is now 20 times more expensive! That’s definitely an unwelcome change. But you know what hasn’t changed, and never will, the importance of doing right by others. It is as valuable today as it was when Jesus walked the earth more than 2023 years ago.

“It is our choice of good or evil that determines our character, not our opinion of good or evil.

~ Aristotle