esrosedotblog

IT'S A GAS

Yesterday at the supermarket I asked how Linda, the checker and front manager, was doing.

She went into a swoon over the price of gas. Which I had not noticed, myself. But I don't much look at the price of anything. Not blasé, really, just lazy.

I asked her how far she had to drive to work. "A couple of miles".

Oh.

Then today, one of the gym guys who owns a few gas stations, was all about the gasoline prices. He said that his regular was at $4.00 a gallon. Hmm. Last time I filled up it was more like 3 something. Last week. $3.50?

We kidded around about filling up whenever we got the chance. But when I left for home, I stopped at my usual place to fill up. I had over a half a tank. I had caught the panic.

Their gas, a regional chain, was $3.89. Less than the gym guy's. I almost went back to tell him but I was over it. Filling the car out in the middle of the desert in just gym clothes takes the resolve out of me fast.

I remember the Carter fuel shortages. People "on-line" early in the morning. All that.

I don't remember that I panicked much about it at the time. Just went and got gas. I don't personally remember lines, just in the paper.

There was trouble with gas prices not very long ago. 2008. I remember the jokes about an "arm and a leg" on the price board. But those prices were a bit lower than we have this week.

They say this is because of Libya. Yeah. I haven't seen a news event yet that couldn't be attributed to profiteering. The same day!

I am not worried about it. I personally don't drive any further than Lynda at the supermarket. John does but even that isn't a commute exactly. We might do 200 miles a week at most. 20 miles a gallon (it is a Volvo after all) makes that about 10 gallons a week. Ten bucks more now. Maybe more later.

We can blow ten bucks without blinking.

Mostly, I feel the effect on the old portfolio. The market panics when oil goes up in price.

Up and down. The market. We squeal. What is it going to be like when oil starts to run out forever?

On the chart, nominal price means the actual present price unadjusted for inflation.

Labels: automobiles, economy