I remember the first time my mom, Opal Olson, used a credit card. In fact I remember the first time she needed one and we did not have one. We were coming home from Winfield, KS after a doctor appointment (Dr. Cecil Snyder) and when we were about to Dexter, KS we realized we needed gas. I should mention that Dexter is where they made candy canes and the O'Henry Bar was invented by the man who made the candy canes. If you remember that hard candy we got at Christmas each year that had a Christmas tree or other design inside, that was from the same place. Anyway, mom did not have much money with her and we had a farm tank at home where gas was cheaper as we bought in bulk. Gas at the time was 11 cents a gallon in Dexter due to a gas war (who even knows what a gas war is?). Mom wanted 25 cents worth of gas put in the pickup. She gave me a quarter and told me to pump the gas, actually back then they pumped the gas for you. I was embarrassed and did not want to do that, but I was not allowed a choice.
Now for the credit card. Mom and Dad and I went to Weatherford, OK to visit the college where I ultimately did attend and on the way back we stopped by Binger, OK (home of Johnny Bench, the great Cincinnati Reds catcher) to visit some friends (my girlfriend at the time and her dad). They filled up their gas tank and mom popped out her credit card which was declined. She had it for a few years but had never used it. With a phone call it went through but it was another of those embarrassing moments. I don't know why I got embarrassed so easily but I did. Can you imagine? It was 1971 and it was the first time my mother had used a credit card?
😊😊When was the last time you used cash? Yesterday I tried to use cash and they told me they could not take it! Are you kidding me? Credit cards add about 2 to 3% additional expense for every item. Do you ever wonder how we got in this situation? Actually I know a little of how it happened. Visa and Mastercard and probably all the other card issuing companies make the merchants/businesses sign agreements that they can not mark-up or charge extra for the added expense, therefore, they had to add it to the cost of the goods. Strangely enough the government entities, like the tag agencies, do not follow those rules. They have an up-charge for using a credit card.
Well, this is just another one of those moments in life we learn from. I wonder why it would be legal for ALL credit card companies to limit the ability to charge extra, huummmmm? If the two major card companies did the same thing, would you think they are monopolizing commerce? Just thinking out loud, please forgive me.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
- Gas wars have nothing to do with Iran, Iraq, or Saudi Arabia.
- A little embarrassment can make a kid grow up just a little.
- Adversity is good for people if you learn from it
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