Oh, Those Rising Gas Prices

I guess I'd be giving away my age if I relate that I remember a time when gas was 88 cents a gallon. My mom? 35 cents. My, how times have changed. Now, with gas prices hovering around $4/gallon, I have begun to appreciate my most recent high gas-mileage car purchase. But we still have a car whose gas mileage is not so eco- and, hence, price friendly. So, we've been doing what we can to cut back. We drive the fuel-efficient car more, we avoid driving more and further than what is absolutely necessary, and we don't drive as fast as we used to. Lately, I've been observing the practices of others on the road and I have noticed that the traffic around me is not moving as fast as it used to. I assume that others are trying to save on gas as well.

Just last week (Thursday to be exact), my mom and I were doing some grocery shopping and started to notice an inordinate amount of cars pulled over to the side of the road. We began counting. I think on our trip to the store and back, we counted about 8 stalled cars. Many of the cars were older model Explorers and trucks. Given that the date of these stall-outs, I began to wonder if these were cars that had run out of gas while their drivers hoped against hope to make the gas last until pay day on the first. I shared my thoughts with my mom. She says that, from now on, people who run out of gas on the side of the road should display a sign reading "Out of Gas." The sign would serve to alert others as to how the gas problem is real, how it is affecting our neighbors around us, and...heck...maybe, some kind soul would actually be kind enough to stop and give a gallon. What a great idea. If there were enough signs, enough awareness of the problem, perhaps something would be done that would actually help. Pandering to the public with additional stimulus incentives of tax cuts isn't going to cut it. Sorry, presidential candidates. What will work is that terrible word that no one wants to say out loud. You know it begins with an R, has a G in the middle, and ends with an N. If you can't figure it out, go ask your friendly neighborhood liberal. Big profits for big gas companies needs to be curbed, period. For this country, gasoline is an unnatural resource that we cannot, unfortunately, live without. Then, like water, we need to make sure that all people have reasonable access to it. That doesn't mean it should be free but, like other necessary resources, the price needs to be controlled. Don't worry, friendly conservatives, we're too chicken to do it. It ain't going to happen. Fine. We'll all just sit without gas. But, let's at least put out our signs!!!