The Chevron Incident

Sons and Friends,
The Road through the mountains to my Shack is open again. The last of the snow blocking the road has melted away and the scenic route from the Northern California Redwoods through the Southern Oregon mountains is now open. The logging trucks, rolling by my house daily now, are laden with the BIG trees from somewhere back, up in the mountain forest above. Motorcyclists seeking the Scenic route are no longer passing by the Shack twice; finding out the hard way the route was closed. I'll be worn out by the end of the day, watching the extra traffic go by. Actually, I have postponed my Spring work until Summer and now must get busy. The result of being idle. Life is Wonderful, Every Miserable Moment. But first, a man has to live and escape the routine occasionally. I was in that California city in the valley where the two rivers meet for four days last week. Saw friends, played Poker and won, rode the motorcycle. It was all good. The motorcycle gets 40Mpg on the Highway. The RoadMonster. I filled up on the Oregon side first. Gas was $3.89 a gallon. It jumped $0.20 cents in Northern California, and when I got to that river city, then it was $4.29 a gallon for Regular, except ...... Thursday morning I pulled into Chevron. I was on my way to get a comfortable hotel room when I stopped for gas. As I swung my right leg over the Motorcycle and dismounted, I was face to face with the pump. It read-

20.00 DOLLARS
5.83 GALLONS

As I turned towards the store\cashier I started doing the math and two steps later I realized; That ain't 4.29 a gallon! Then I looked again. The prices read REGULAR 4.29 / PLUS 3.39 / PREMIUM 4.51 across the pumps. Like they do, you know? There are twelve pumps at this Chevron. Two rows of six. Three to a side. They were mostly full. I walked up to the gentlemen in front of me. I asked him if he noticed the PLUS was a dollar cheaper than the sign advertised. He looked at me and responded,"Yeah, I noticed that. Probably a mistake , huh?" I responded, "Yeah, probably,.... maybe I'll tell the clerks inside... after I fill up, of course." We laughed.
I noticed he was filling up with PLUS, too. I say 'too' because on the way into the store to give the clerk my twenty dollar bill, I took note that EVERYBODY was pumping PLUS into their cars. As I filled The RoadMonster (yes, it occurred to me that my windfall wasn't as big as some but, I didn't mention the price on the pump to the clerks), a large 1980's type, big ol' wide, true-gas-hog of a Cadillac pulled in on the other side of the pump. As the youngish driver of the car stepped out I said, "Hey.... the PLUS is selling a dollar cheaper on the pump then it's advertised on the sign." He looked at me and said, "Huh?" It didn't take much explaining for him to get the gist of things pretty quick though; He was filling up with PLUS too when I hung up the pump and went in to get my change. CHANGE from a twenty after filling up my motorcycle. Unheard of since forever! On the way out, at the pump nearest the door, I saw this fella hit the regular button as I walked by. So I stopped him and explained the situation. He couldn't see the price of the gas though; when he hit the regular button the price of the other two grades quit lighting up so he couldn't see their prices. You know... like they do. But he shut the pump off and, when the other prices were lit and showing, he picked the PLUS too. I felt like Santa Claus. I was Paul Revere running around that gas station telling everybody about PLUS! A self-exiled Californian returned from the mountains of Southern Oregon, Informer of the Exploited, Carrier of Good News, Enlightener of those within my reach... Let the Seller Beware! I did have a moral moment though. I reflected to a gentleman in a suit as he filled his Explorer with PLUS, "...all these otherwise honest, hard-working people don't seem to have any reservation about taking advantage of an obvious mistake." He replied, "Chevron can afford it." So I called my friend Gary; He lives nearby. I called Sandy, she works nearby. Chevron can afford it. Let the Seller Beware. It was their pump. As I drove away, I saw the guy in the suit step around the pump and converse with the stranger on the other side, something about PLUS, I think. It was a happy group that morning. Sandy went by an hour later, Plus was 4.39 a gallon.
Maybe the clerks noticed, or maybe a sympathizer showed up. Regardless, though it was not planned, and we were not to blame, there was a moment that morning; a moment of opportunity to conspire and be secretive, a moment to fight back and be offensive, rather than helpless and at the hands of the profiteers. And I was Proud to share The Chevron Incident with my fellow Americans who, doubtlessly, are indicative of the resentment and attitude of the whole Population: Let The Seller Beware... Revolution is only a mistake away. I can hear Jefferson Airplane now. TakeStock ! (Catchy Name, huh?)