I brought a brand-new Esso to the corner of Alameda and Eglinton West.
There was an old Petro V Plus on that corner that I took out. I should have supported the smaller, Canadian-owned station, but to be honest, I get lazy. Those old stations can be a hassle. The Ultramar at Vaughan and Oakwood won’t even let you pay at the pump; you have to wedge your car between others, risk a ding just to get to the old pumps, and then go inside to pay.
So when I drove through Little Jamaica and saw a shiny new Esso sign near Marlee, I felt a little sad, but I wasn’t surprised. The Esso is replacing the independent place that used to be there. My first thought: that’s not great for the community. My second: I’m probably going to use it. It doesn’t make sense. Esso is owned by ExxonMobil, the father of all monsters – a Typhon-like, fire-breathing giant burning the planet – and yet it’s so convenient.
Of course I’d rather take the subway. I could be reading and catching up on work instead of battling highways, gripping the wheel at 100 km/h, driving with hunchbacked for hours, and handing hundreds of dollars a month to ExxonMobil. But there’s no subway into Scarborough. It feels wrong to support Typhon – I mean, Esso. But I know I will.
So, it wasn’t me alone that brought the Esso to the corner. Hundreds of us convenience-driven commuters did.
I’m sorry.
