Magnet and Steel

This week I found out that sticking your credit card in your vest pocket with your kids' magnets really will muck up the card's magnetic strip. Not an old wive's tale. Just so you know.
I also found out that the only thing more annoying that having your credit card get ruined by magnets is to have to explain in advance to the gas station attendant that your card is perfectly valid but won't scan. And then to explain why. And then to have the attendant look at you askance, like you're a crazy old lady, a crazy old shyster lady, and then go off and try to swipe your card through the machine anyway.
Which leads, because she swiped it several times before giving up, to your credit card's fraud detection agency being alerted to suspicious activity and calling to make sure that really was you purchasing $35 bucks worth of gas. And you think $35 bucks? It only took $35 bucks to fill up my tank? Woah.
Which makes you forget all about the magnets and the credit card.

song: Magnet and Steel • artist: Walter Egan