J.P.

I had forgotten that many of the gas stations in Central New York require that you hold onto the pump handle for the duration of putting fuel into the vehicle. There’s no little flippy thing to hold the handle in the on position until the pump senses it’s time to turn it off.

I do not enjoy this, especially in the frigid cold weather of Central New York.

I found an article from 2014 in Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle that indicates there are two states in the nation that don’t allow the hold and close clips, and that’s New York and Massachusetts. There’s a petition on change.org that is petitioning to allow these mechanisms to be used in New York. Whether the hold and close clips are allowed isn’t the issue in the law, the issue is that New York requires a person present to dispense gasoline into their vehicle and this is how the filling stations follow the law. There’s stickers that say things like “don’t wedge your gas cap into the pump nozzle”. One sticker had a user added advisory note, “use a screwdriver”.

Many years ago there was an overzealous cashier at a Wawa in the Poconos that would turn the pump off every time someone stepped away from the pump while filling up. This was occurring in the middle of a torrential rain storm, and even with the presence of hold and close clips on the pumps, she felt the need to end the transaction if you got yourself out of the rain while the pump dispensed gasoline into the vehicle. I went in and complained several times, along with every other customer at the station at the time, and she was adamant. There was talk of forcing her and her cash register out into the rain but we just paid the $1 she allowed to be pumped into the tank and went across the street to the filling station where folks were friendlier.

I miss friendly folks.

I’m a big fan of traditional American main streets. I enjoy perusing the business districts of small towns across the country. Some are making a resurgence; some are in horrible disrepair.

Friendly Mill Street in Bristol, PA has been making a bit of a comeback since our last visit several years ago. There are hardly any closed up store fronts. Cafes, small antique shops, and other locally owned businesses populate the street near the Delaware River, and it is wonderful.

I feel online presences are desperately trying to replace the American village in the sense of becoming a new community. Online connections are wonderful. I have made lots of friends over the Internet, but the friendships really become a connection when we meet in person. I don’t think online interactions will ever replace in person connections where two humans have the opportunity to exchange energy in some way.

I hope before I end this life I’m able to see a real return to the town square, the community center, or the quaint main street. I feel like there’d be less screaming at one another and more positive energy exchanged.

We walked a mall again today. Unlike yesterday’s experience at the Cherry Hill Mall, this mall was a little depressing. Two missing anchor stores, closed up shops everywhere, and the JCPenney was downright depressing. There were blocked off areas where merchandise used to be and a less than enthralling selection of merchandise.

As a Gen-Xer that grew up during the “mall era”, I’m used to shopping malls that thrive with lots of stores, plenty of places to eat, and a variety of merchandise to be found in solid anchor stores at the end of each wing. ‘Tis not the way of the 21st century, where folks now focus on their phones, buying things online, their phones, and socializing via their phones.

While malls were the “fake community” of those earlier times, at least people still had to be frequently present. It’s important for humans to exchange energy in person, not just scream at each other through their little devices. Have conversations, not exchanges of 280 characters. Find the meaning.

And can someone please guide me to middle aged men’s fashions in a mall? Thank you.

It was nice to see a piece of familiarity at the mall today. Though not as big as the original stores, Macy’s seems to be doing a decent job bringing Toys ‘R Us back.