The one continuing thing that absolutely PMO is Donald Trump’s ignorance about how to carry out his role as President of the United States and leader of the free world.
Then there are lesser, but still mind-warping, irritants - and this weekend I had two on the same day within hours of each other.
Mind you, these occurred while Trump is consistently PMO.
Driving from North Carolina to my home in South Carolina on a nice Sunday morning I stopped for gas at a name brand station. The first pump had an out of order sign on it. OK. No big deal. I pulled around to a second pump. I put my brand loyalty card in the slot. Did I want the cash reduction? Of course. I followed with a credit card and went through the usual litany of questions. Each one requiring me to punch an answer on the display panel, which, by the by, was almost too dirty to read, Is this a debit or credit card? Credit was the answer. So then I had to enter my ZIP code and did I want a receipt. Yes, I want a receipt.
After all the bookkeeping was done I lifted the handle, pushed my choice and proceeded to fill up. When it finished, I put the pump back, screwed my gas cap on tight and closed the side panel. I turned for my receipt and instead got a message telling me to see the clerk.
Irritant #1. No receipt paper in the pump is becoming an all too frequent occurrence. It happens at brand name stations, and the “Have a happy Trump day” gas station I used - out of necessity - in Florida a couple of weeks ago. The operator there gave me this greeting when I walked in to pay. (His pumps didn’t take credit cards.) He gave me the same greeting when I went back in to use the men’s room and when I (thank God) finally got out of there.
Back to North Carolina. I walked to the store and opened the door. Eight people were standing in the one open line. At the head of the line, a customer was buying a candy bar and a soda pop with a debit card and having difficulty working the credit card machine. Smoke was coming out of the ears of the seven people behind him. I left. Eff the receipt.
Since this see the clerk is happening all too often, I believe failure to keep receipt paper in the pumps is a gimmick to lure customers into the store hoping they will make an impulse purchase. They must be some automatic way of knowing when a pump is out of receipt paper, or the first time someone walks in to ask for receipt ought to be enough of a clue.
Number Two. I went back on the road and got home. No Sunday morning paper at my door. This is the fourth or fifth time since I subscribed in late January that my paper has not been delivered. I called the newspaper and was greeted, as on all other occasions, with recorded messages on about how important my call is to someone who is never available to answer the phone. I will spare the reader further details, but on Monday I canceled my subscription via email. A woman from the paper called and left a message, so I decided to be friendly and return her call. She was not available and her message box was full.
