LOUIS BURKE | Culture | CONTACT
It’s been precious seconds since you’ve read something about ‘the rising cost of living’ but here’s another for you to be sad about anyway.
In a bittersweet twist, the increased cost of petrol is making local driver Timeon Cogger (35) feel young again as he’s now forced to beg all his passengers for some cash.
A driver since his 17th birthday, Cogger has fond memories of driving around with friends at night, heading to nowhere in particular but usually Maccas drive thru.
If his friends hadn’t shouted him anything at Maccas, Cogger would reliably ask for some cash to cover the cost of petrol because being a poor teenager is expensive.
However, as Cogger and his mates matured he found himself rejecting offers for petrol money as he had become an adult with a disposable income and the world is great and ripe with opportunity and everything was always going to be OK forever.
Unfortunately for Cogger, that optimism took place when petrol was $1.10 a litre, still an outrage at the time but a far cry from whatever Matrix glitch is happening at the pumps today and as a result has reverted back to asking his passengers for money.
“I don’t feel good about it but I mean come on, it’s not like I’m using premium fuel,” stated Cogger, who also asks for an extra dollar if his mates want the air con on in his car.
“I remember my dad used to say ‘I’m going to have to start charging you soon, I’m not a taxi service!’ Thing is, you do pay taxi drivers, if anything he was becoming more of one with that threat.”
“I should have known I’d always end up like him. Inevitable isn’t it? Turning into your parents and the price of petrol going up; fucking inevitable.”
MORE TO COME.
