The Sale of Beer at a Gas Station.. Does anyone else see the irony in all this?

When I began college in Newark, Delaware four years ago I was APPALLED to learn that I would be unable to purchase beer at the local gas stations and 711s.  And, no not because my fake ID said I was 26 and would literally fall apart if you grabbed it in the wrong spot, but because Delaware does not sell beer at places other than liquor stores.  Hmm then maybe it should be called an "alcohol" store? ahem. just sayin'.

I come from good ol' Long Island where you can purchase beer just about anywhere.. 711s, supermarkets and best of all.. gas stations!!  I never really saw the irony of the sale of alcohol at a gas station until I lived somewhere that this convenience did not exist.  But, with so many laws regarding driving while intoxicated , why does it make sense to sell alcohol at gas stations?  Okay, gotta take the hour drive from my mother's house to my father's house.  Let me just fill up my tank and get a 6 pack for the road?

Don't get me wrong.  I am not hating.  It was a fantastic thing back in the day because all the gas stations were more lenient with the purchase of alcohol.  Perhaps I would have never drank at such a young age if they did not sell beer at gas stations on Long Island, because where would I have gotten it?  Surely, not 711s because I still get carded there.  And, there was NO way I was stepping in a liquor store.  Or perhaps I would've just stuck to stealing smirnoff raspberry vodka from my mom's cabinet.  I do not know.

But the point is... Thank you Long Island for being so cool and encouraging drinking beer at such a young age.  If not for the sale of beer in gas stations it is quite possible that my love for beer may not have grown to be the love I have for it today.  And that would just be a tragedy.