Read something today that made me think back.


As a young kid in rural America in the 70's, we had a lot of
owner operated filling stations here. 2 bay garages, two sets of pumps.


Usually it was the owner(dirty from working on a car) that came out, pumped the gas, cleaned the windshield, ask if you wanted the oil checked.

Everyone knew everyone, he would ask about you/family/crops...
My folks/grandparents would ask him the same.

To a young kid, he was really important. The family showed him great respect.


Today my middle age wife manages a convenience store. Right where one of those stations stood. Same building untill recently.

Too many folks come in there and treat her and her people like schidt.
Dirt beneath their feet.

Not sure where my mind is trying to go with this.

Was I just an easily impressed Hillbilly kid?
Or, have times and people changed as much as the nature of gas stations?

People have changed..... Yuppies want to move to a small town, live in the country and they bring their chitty arrogant ways with them. My dad used to call it suburban sprawl. After a while, nobody knows anybody. Everyone is a stranger and gets treated like it...ruined a lot of rural America.

No, you were not an easily impressed Hillbilly kid. There was a time in America where kids were taught to respect others and the work or service they provided. These people were part of the community and were valued as such.

As America "progressed" into the modern age, such respect was forgotten and is now considered anachronistic because so many Americans have become complacent, selfish and apathetic. Americans have had it too easy for too long and are now, largely, part of an entitlement society no longer recognizing hard work or the rewards that such hard work can produce.

In other other words, Americans no longer give a schit about anything other than themselves and have become less tolerant of anyone who hold beliefs other than their own - especially all the Marxist pussies that are so ubiquitous in America today.

Times and people have changed. Their mores are different, their values are different, their perspectives are different, their stressors are different, and the government has damn sure made life much harder than it was when we were kids.

A.T Tole owned the American station, wife could stop and get the oil checked and tire pressure, they cleaned her windshield. Nelson pumped the gas and did the checks mostly, A. T. on busy days or some one getting an oil change. If you needed to check the undercarriage they would put it on the rack for you. They actually greased your vehicle when you got it serviced.

Good men and good memories.

Yup my 1st job at 15 was at the filling station. Wish we could go back to those days!

Nope! Were of the Same Era, generation, where we were taught to respect our elders, and take a minute to say hello, and hold the Door,
For anther person, weather it's a man or woman!
People have changed as Society has allowed it! We don't have to adapt to it, just cuz most do and are arrogant!
We can still be kind and say and do the right things! Say hello, and hold a door, heck, be who you are, not how others are!
Your not off base, your telling the truth! I'm a Dinosaur and I know it! Don't get me wrong there's some good out there today,
and modern marvels and conveniences are good to most extents. I know it's hard to ignore it all, but I won't accept most of it,
and do my best to Ignore what I can! I'm still a Man of my Word, and am care full what I promise to who!

I’ve thought about the Mayberry effect a lot. It was part of my life growing up in south central Kentucky. I was born in 1966 and feel fortunate to have lived through the end of the era that you describe.

I’m sure that there are many factors that have contributed to the phenomenon. I think one factor could be the loss of most things small due to corporations becoming dominant and swallowing up the mom and pops.

Small business people care and work hard. They enjoy what they do and see the business as an extension of themselves. Because of that they develop relationships with their customers. They generally care about connecting. Corporate entities are what they are; typically distant with all that comes with the territory.

That’s one of several factors that contributed to the loss of community. I’m sure that the way people are raised is part but I’m not sure that’s the cause as much as an effect.

People are fuqkers, it's not you.

These days I meet very few people that are worth giving my time to, I don't like selfishness and I don't like arrogance, that leaves a lot of people out.

Entitlement. People think everyone owes them.

Could it be because you do not call them out for their behavior. But then again, that would eventually require a fight in the parking lot, unless you were holding a big azz wrench in your hand.

As a teenager I worked at my buddies dad's gas station, pumping gas , checking oil , washing windshields etc.... we would run the credit cards through that slider contraption with carbon paper copies.
Good memories.
As for peoples demeanor these days I blame it squarely on the government and their promotion of the entitlement mentality.

That’s why you are on The Fire, right?

groids knew their place back then

tv shows started it and the internet threw it into high gear. i go out of my way to be polite to folks in the food/service industry. and i have a lot of respect for folks who do jobs nobody else wants to. i have some of those folks in my own family. people suck these days and a hell of a lot of them needed to have their asses beat the first few times they pulled their schit.

When I was in the sixth grade, I wanted to buy a J.C. Higgins shotgun from Sears. My parents told me I would have to earn the money, $29.95 plus sales tax. So I got a paper delivery route (2 cents profit per paper) and bought the shotgun when I had accumulated the price.

Kids don't have that opportunity nowadays.

Then consider this: When the War on Poverty started in 1965, 70% of the lowest quintile (lowest 20%) or earners were employed. Today only 36% are employed. The lowest quintile's income is about $50,000 per year and 90% of that is government transfer payments. Biden proposes to expand the freebiemoochies even more.

My brother and I run our family business that builds and services the fueling equipment at C stores. If you look at our customer list it is easily down 35-40% from 10 years ago. All of the "mom and pops" in our area are gone. Everything we have here now is either large privately owned operators or corporate chains. It's been tough on us.

I think that's about right.

I was born in the early 50s. I walked 10 blocks, by myself, to go to kindergarten. If a parent today allowed that to happen it would be considered child abuse. When we moved to the country when I was 10 we walked 1/3 mile to get picked up by the school bus - rain or shine. Following the school bus out of town now a days, they stop every 100 ft to let kids off and usually there is a car waiting to pick them up. Entitlement starts early.

And that is a thing.

Remember those salty old WWII gets.
Mean bastards when crossed.
Back in the day when you crossed a line, could be as little as a curse in front of a woman, someone would call you on it.

Not today.

I have started doing it.
Have told my wife, "I only need to be nice, when others are nice".