Yesterday on my way home from work I did something I very rarely do. I stopped by a full service gas station. I really didn’t care how much more I was paying, I wasn’t going to stand outside my vehicle in a minus 30 wind chill watching the numbers roll on the gas pump.

I never fill my tank up when I go to a gas station. It’s always the same thing. $20 of gas. The only time I’ll fill my tank is when we’re going to take a trip somewhere. Other than that, it’s 20 bucks worth. I have no idea why I do that, I just do.

My wife doesn’t understand it. “Why don’t you just fill it up? You’re just going to be back there getting more gas in a couple of days. It doesn’t make sense.” Whenever she puts gas in her vehicle, she always fills it up. Whenever I get gas for her I know it better be a lot more than $20 worth or I’ll never hear the end of it.

I always get my gas from Klein’s at 4th and Pasqua. Bob and the crew always have 620 CKRM blaring in the background whenever I go in so that’s where I like to spend my money. By getting my gas elsewhere yesterday I felt like I was cheating on Klein’s. When I drove by on my way home I couldn’t even look at the place. I felt cheap.

Klein’s, please forgive me. I know we’ve had a good run together and that will continue the moment the weather warms up a bit. I’ll be back, I promise. It’ll be the same old thing. I’ll pull up, throw some petrol into my tank, come in and slap a $20 bill on the counter, and then be gone like the wind, only to return in a few days just like my wife had predicted!