My #1 pet peeve

Driving past McDonalds the other day, I noticed with no small amount of loathing that they are now accepting credit cards. Except for roadside fruit stands, there are no places left in America that won’t take Visa. Which leads to a simple question: Doesn’t anybody carry money anymore?!?!? Can’t you people carry just a few dollars so you don’t have to charge that roll of Life Savers at the CVS (while I’m waiting in line behind you)? Credit cards are fine at the gas pump or for major purchases, but now there seems to be no bottom – “For some, no purchase is too small for plastic”:

For years, Marcia Levi refused to accept either credit or debit cards for purchases under $10 at her downtown gift shop, Chocolate Moose. Customers complained. She lowered the threshold to $5. Customers still complained, so two years ago she gave up on any minimum.

"People come in and charge $2.25 for a card or $1.75 for jelly beans," said Levi, who co-owns Chocolate Moose with her sister Barbara. "It's annoying. In the past two years, they've just whipped out the card without thinking about it, no matter how small the purchase."

Last weekend, I was in a coffee shop in Northampton and – swear to Buddha – I was the only person in the place with legal tender. When it came my turn to pay for a cappuccino, I facetiously asked: “Do you take cash?” The girl behind the counter laughed.