AJC > Sandy Springs > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 06
Monday, October 6, 2008
Gas crunch helps put things in perspective
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been lucky so far that I have only had to sit in two gas lines. Who would have thought that a hurricane hundreds of miles from our little burg would be slapping us around weeks later.
I’m lucky that most of my work takes place from home - my morning commute is the walk from the kitchen to wherever I park my laptop. In a normal week half a tank is more than enough.
But it’s funny how we can get so sideways when something that we take for granted is suddenly gone. All the convenience stores where I normally swing in for a couple gallons are still without gas.
I hope they’re selling a lot of beer nuts and sodas, but I suspect all sales are down since they have no fuel to peddle. One manager told me it’s been so long since he’s seen a tanker truck that he forgot he was in the gasoline business.
My buddy Brian has started taking the MARTA train to work, schlepping his bicycle to complete the journey and is giddy over how little gas he needs these days. How little gas you can get by on is the new status symbol.
I don’t criticize anyone who drives one of those big gas-chugging Hummers but you couldn’t give me one right now. My grandfather told me once to think twice before taking on anything I had to feed or paint. I’d love to know what he would think about any consumer vehicle that gets single-digit MPG.
The gas crunch reminds me of an ice storm a few years back where our neighborhood was among the last to get put back on line. We were without power for three days. By the time the lights where back on I was about ready to crawl inside the fireplace on top of the embers just to recall what warm felt like.
I’d rather sit in a gas line than be down in Clayton County where parents are wrestling with high school diplomas that are not worth the paper they are printed on. When Zach and Amelia were applying to colleges we never had to worry that their entire high school educations might be null and void.
There is much to be said for simply having a roof over my head with electricity, gas and running water. It’s kind of like that admonition that when you have your health you have everything.
Maybe not everything but the potential for everything.
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