Double, double oil and trouble

I find myself not even looking at the price of gas anymore.

It's usually around $4.50 a gallon, give or take a few pennies, but the give or take variable just absolutely doesn't interest me at all.

Years ago, the difference between name-brand gas, like Chevron, and small independent gas stations, like the grope-happy White Tiger by my house, was about 7 cents.

Filling up my car would cost roughly $15, so the 70 cent difference in a full tank meant the difference between getting a fiver and some coin back from my Jackson, or getting four singles and a pocket full of change. That five dollar bill was worth going out of my way to White Tiger for.

Now I find that despite the exponential increase in gas prices, the difference between the little guys and the 76s of the world is the same small increment of about 7 cents. While I am a consummate supporter of underdogs, lost causes and independent organizations, I find myself, when lacking the time, uninterested in searching one out for cheaper petrol.

The 70 cent difference on a tank that now costs about 45-50 dollars on my credit card couldn't be more inconsequential to me. It's all fake money added on the heap I owe, which I pay off with electronic transfers from my bank account that is funded by direct deposit from my job (ps I got a job).

At no time do I or anyone else in the long chain of people involved in the financial aspect of filling my tank ever see cash or even a check, so what do I care if it's 70 cents more? It's just 70 more cents that I never would have seen anyway.