Hey Marybna and Joe,
The fine art of ripping off travelers has been around as long as mankind has been in the travelin' mood. The good ole' USSA has always had some of the best.
Back in the 40's and 50's the worst of the worst were little family owned "one horse" towns where there was one gas station, one restaurant, one motel, one cop and one Justice of the Peace. Grand dad was the station owner and Judge, the two or three sons were the cop, gas station attendant and mechanic. The mom and daughters were the cooks, waitresses and maids at the motel.
The typical scenario was as follows: Mindless, trusting Bob his wife and two kids are headin' from LA to the Grand Canyon. They stop at the Big Tee Pee filling station in Buggerville Az to gas up, he leaves the fill up the the attendant and goes to take a leak while the wife and kids check out the eatery for a snack and soda pop. The car now unattended is in the hands of son # 1, Homer. Homer is checking under the hood and has a nice big screwdriver in his pocket that he uses to punch a nice big hole in Bob's radiator. Bob and family return to their car, fire it up and continue on their merry way.
Ten or fifteen miles down the road Bob's radiator overheats, the cylinder head gasket blows and God forbid the scorching engine seizes up. So who ya gonna call? Of course the only service station within miles, the Big Tee Pee. They arrive with a tow truck, son #2 Bert, the mechanic hooks em up and a fifty dollar tow later they are back in Buggerville. Bert looks at the engine, says no problema we can get you a cylinder head gasket in just two days. Meanwhile you can partake of our fine dining and the only lodging for a hundred miles in any direction.
After two wonderful days eatin' greasy grub and the fine lodging without any AC, Bob and la familia are on the way, less four or five hundred bucks that they planed on spending on their vacation. Pissed off Bob speeds off into the sunset only to be pulled over by the only cop, son #3 Maynard for excessive speed. Maynard tells Bob to follow him back to Buggerville to meet with the Judge about the ticket. It's after four in the afternoon and the Judge won't be back in his office until 9 the next morning.
Guess what Bob and la familia must do now? Another nite in Buggerville!
Nothing has changed nor ever will. The worst of the worst are STILL IN BUSINESS. Just look at Gila Bend, Ajo, Sonoita, Puerto Penasco, El Golfo, San Luis RC and San Luis AZ, those towns and hundreds more still exist on the Rip Off Highway of unwary travelers.
Just sayin'
JJ
