It is or should I say was one of my pet peeves. The fact that I could only use the small plastic, 5 cents off gas card at Citgo only a few times irritated the snot out of me. And plenty of folks only use it only once. More often then not, they didn’t even walk the discarded card to the nearest garbage can. They littered the asphalt surrounding gas pumps with them, like old confetti.

This would always be a source of frustration. But that is yesterday’s news. Literally. Because it was yesterday when all this changed for me.

I left my neighborhood Country Fair after purchasing a $10 gas card, happy to walk inside to save 5 cents off a gallon of gas. I figured I’d put enough gas in to get me down the street and back.

After the gas pump clicked off, I perfunctorily tapped the nose to make sure I got the last drop of liquid gold into my tank. As I turned around to return the nozzle to its home, I saw a small box affixed to the pump. It was a dispensary to put the used cards, a happy site indeed, as I’d hoped this meant “recycling.” But what was written on the box was even better. The gas cards could be refilled. Up to 999 times. Sweet.

I then took a look at the card itself and later, went online to see what exactly www.feelinggood.com is. Apparently, charities can sign up on the website to win gift cards. “Each year, the CITGO Fueling Good program gives away $120,000 in Gift Cards to charities, lending a hand to ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things for their communities. Twelve charities will win.” You learn something new everyday.