We're with Marion

Thank goodness, most banks still have tellers - you know, living, breathing, smiling examples of the human race - as flesh-and-blood alternatives to ATMs.

Most grocery stores give you an option to tally your purchases: humans or lifeless scanners that read and regurgitate receipts. Thank God and Ron McIntire, stores like Super 1 Foods have taken no shine to automation. It's clear they still believe people - and the jobs those people fill - make their stores and their communities stronger.

So along comes a Hayden resident named Marion Walker whose antipathy toward technology is quickly surrendered. Marion submitted a letter to the editor not by email, but written out in perfect hand on a small sheet of paper. Thing is, there are actually many Marion Walkers among us.

As you can see by the letter in today's Opinions section, it's a heartfelt plea for help at the gas pump. Marion's request sympathizes with senior citizens who have to walk to and from their vehicles in nasty weather and on icy pavement, but we know that just getting out of the car and manipulating a self-service pump can be a real ordeal in the worst North Idaho weather conditions. So we have a proposal.

To any gas stations in The Press's circulation area that will set aside one day a week to pump gas for their customers, from November through March, we promise to promote that extraordinary service every week in the paper - no charge. Just contact Mike Patrick, mpatrick@cdapress.com or 664-0227, and let us know who and where you are, and what day or days of the week you'll provide a gas station attendant. We'll share that information weekly with readers throughout the region.

The good old days can be here again. Marion Walker won't be alone in rejoicing.