On the way out to my car this morning I thought that the front tire looked a little low on air. It wasn’t flat, but it looked like it need a boost of air for the proper inflation. I keep the tires just a little low during the winter anyway, so I get better traction on the wet and icy roads.

There is a gas station just two blocks from my condo, so I stopped there on my way to work and found the air machine off to the side. To be honest, I expected the air to be free. The cost of gas is so high and the profit margins on all the junk they sell in the convenience store are definitely making money for the gas station owners. But I was shocked to find that the air machine require 4 quarters to turn it on.

I didn’t have 4 quarters in my wallet, so I had to either go inside the store, wait in line to get up to the cash register and then ask for change for a dollar bill. And that just didn’t sit well with me, so I left.

I think I will check with a gas station closer to my office and see if they charge for air, too. I’m sorry if this makes me sound cheap, but one dollar for a burst of a few seconds of air just annoys me.