Didja hear?Gas out on the highway went up 6 cents this morning.
Didja hear?
Hey! Gas went down 2 cents this morning!
Didja know?
Gas is always cheaper in Piedmont than ‘round here. I don’t understand that.
Been to Embry Crossroads this week?
I heard gas was $1.82 down there yesterday.
That, my friends, ranks right up there with “them liberals” dissing the president, Oxford getting another hamburger joint, and March Madness as topics wherever coffee drinkers gather for their first fix of the day.
Trying to line up the figures in the mind is like watching a slot machine running off the Energizer Bunny.
The numbers change that often ... and quickly, too.
On one recent drive out U.S. 431 to Winn Dixie, looking at what was, at the time, a reasonable price, I made a mental note to fill up on the way back.
Fifteen minutes later, on the way back, the price had jumped 6 cents.
Honest. You don’t make up that kind of stuff.
Listen to me here ... closely:
The best bet out there is if you stop and gas up, the next service station you see, it will be 4 cents cheaper. If you don’t fill up, the best you’ll find is 4 cents higher.
You can take that to Vegas and come home in an armored truck
Hey, don’t trust me. Keep a log.
Looking back, something jumps at me that is scary.
“ ... a reasonable price …”
It hasn’t been that long ago that we figured anything under $1.80 was “reasonable.”
And before that, anything under $1.60.
The time is still in our rear view mirror that when gas jumped past the $1.10, we howled for a congressional investigation and government takeover of Texaco. Anybody wearing funny head gear and long white robes needed hanging from the nearest oak tree (pine is soft, tends to break).
George Bush’s latest energy policy? Every president this side of Richard Nixon has had one. Don’t get me started on that.
The latest deal is to blame the Chinese for their explosive growth and spiraling consumption of oil. After all, that is just a bit this side of ticking off all those Middle East dictators who buy Mercedes by the six-pack and insist on gold-plated faucets in the butler’s potty.
If you’re wondering where all this comes from:
1. A photo on the internet this morning showing regular gas at $2.09.
2. A story saying OPEC would increase production, lower the price.
Number two is the beginning of a very, very short fairy tale.
You can take that to the bank, too.
And, standing at the pump late Wednesday, watching the pump numbers blur as I held the lever down, I had this feeling ...
Nobody really gives a flip about me ...
Custer would understand, but somebody told me he’s left the building.
