2410 Gas Prices

Friday night we went out for dinner--we always have a date night, and since I've been married over 45 years, you might want to tuck that away as a suggestion. The van was rolling on fumes, so I checked the web site to see where gas was cheapest, and at our corner it was $2.89 and across the river $2.69. For 15 gallons it looked like it might be worth it. After our $30.00 evening out at the pub and $5 at Cheryl's Cookies for dessert, we started for Mill Run. But it was barely after 6 p.m. and we hit all the traffic returning to the far out suburbs. Believe me, Columbus has nothing like Chicago, LA or DC, but we're spoiled. We pout if we sit a bit in traffic. So after sitting for 5 minutes through 3 stop lights, he pulled into a Speedway and got gas for $2.79.

So we saved $1.50 by not buying it on the way to the restaurant, and spent $1.50 more than if we'd added 10 minutes to our evening, sat on the bridge for awhile watching the ducks and got it for $2.69. Isn't that silly?

Last October on our trip to Illinois we were thrilled to find $2.89. Want money for gas? Buy one less carton of cigarettes a week--that'll fill up my tank. Stop at Speedway for your coffee instead of Starbucks. In a week, you'll more than make up the gas increase. Buy a medium pizza instead of a large, and eats some carrot sticks. Buy one six pack of beer instead of three--we'll all be safer if you plan to drive. Don't down load any tunes (.99 each) for a month and listen to the thousand you already have. Don't go to any first run movies for a month--hit the dollar theaters for what you missed 6 weeks ago. Or go to the library and get some free DVDs and make the popcorn at home. That'll be $15 for the tank right there.

Invite a neighbor on your next shopping trip or drive to work. Drive the speed limit and inflate your tires. Don't hop scotch around on the freeway--pretend you're fifty instead of 25, because you all end up at the light at the same time.

And if you are a Greenie, accept the credit and take a bow for these prices. You've kept the oil refineries from being built. You've stopped the drilling for oil on American soil. You've halted a lot of industry in the USA so we could have cleaner air, chasing people out of the cities where they had public transportation. People are reducing their driving because of you, especially poor people driving older, less fuel efficient cars. Be proud and puffed up when you hear your co-workers bitching. Smile. It's all your fault.