The Cost of Air

My Rideshare passenger was a student, a young man who lived in an apartment complex where I generally expected to pick up international students. He wasn't.

The app told me this would be a multi-destination trip, the first being the Walgreens store downtown. I assumed the additional destination would be to return him back home, as was often the case with Walgreens trips. It was. 

Until it wasn't.

I backed into a parking spot while he went inside. Less than five minutes later he returned, with no purchase in his hands.

 "They didn't have it!" he exclaimed. "But they suggested I try Office Depot." And he looked at me hopefully, since Office Depot was not one of his multiple destinations.

"Office Depot is right behind Walgreens," I offered. "I can just take you back there. No need to change the trip details for that." And off we went.

As we pulled in to the almost entirely empty Office Depot parking lot, I asked him what he was searching for.

"A can of air. The kind you spray to clean your computer."

He left the car to go look for air in Office Depot, while I wondered why he had thought Walgreen's might be the first choice to buy a can of air. And then my eye caught the sign on the front window of Office Depot: "STORE CLOSING: Final Two Days"

It wasn't long before the young man returned, again without any purchase visible. Apparently there was nothing left in Office Depot to purchase other than shelving and fixtures.

He asked me where I thought he could find his can of air, and I suggested Walmart, which had seemed to me the obvious first choice all along. So he added a destination to his app and off we went to Walmart, three miles and 12 minutes away. 

He found his can of air at Walmart and we went back to his apartment.

The trip all together was a little over 9 miles, taking about 45 minutes, including the time I spent waiting for him in parking lots. His charge for that trip was nearly $50.  

For a can of air that cost $9.

For the moment let's set aside the absurdity of a modern world that considers it normal - even necessary - to buy a spray can filled with nothing but air. 

For his purposes, for the efficient running of his computer, than can of air was a treasure worth spending more than a family of four might spend on a meal at McDonalds.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. 

Matthew 13:44-46