Odds and Evens

I'm old enough, I must admit, to remember the era of "Odds and Evens" in the late 70s. My family was at Disney World and while I recall very little about the park (which still makes my dad mad because IT WAS AN EXPENSIVE VACATION!!!), I do remember waiting in long lines at the gas station on the day that our license plate allowed us to get gas. The last number of the plate - odd or even - determined when you could buy. People would freak if that happened again, but times are strange right now and no one is certain what we could face in the very near future.


I'm not even going to attempt to blog about what's going on in Libya and the Middle East. I watch the news, listen to occasional talk radio (WLS), and am online all day - but I'm never confident discussing affairs in that part of the world. Still, everyone these days has a sense of what's going on and knows that it's going to have a serious effect on the world as a whole. I read today that oil prices have jumped nearly $13 a barrel in just three trading days. Prices are over 50 cents higher than they were this time last year. We just heard that Gaddafi may be ordering attacks to sabotage Libya's oil fields.

I think people are really starting to worry. When I was driving home this afternoon I saw many stations in Champaign that had raised their prices to $3.25/gallon (what is it with this part of the state and 20-30 cent jumps?!?). But a couple on Mattis were still at $3.09, so you can bet that even though I had 3/4 tank left, I turned around and went back...to wait in line. Yikes. Lines at a gas station are a scary sight for people. Unless there's a crazy promotion going on, lines are never, ever a good thing. Are we overreacting? Is the media stoking the flames? Will we really, finally, see gas at $5 a gallon this summer (or sooner)?

I'm thankful that (when it warms up) I can hop on my 49-cc scooter that gets 100 mpg. If one of those is a feasible purchase for you, I couldn't recommend anything else MORE. It's fun, easy to ride, perfect for everywhere in C/U, and obviously a smart financial move. Heck, maybe I could dust off my bike (which retired to the back of the garage after the arrival of the scooter) and actually get some exercise! I know those options aren't for everyone, especially if you have a car full of kids or drive in from another town. I can only imagine how closely you're watching those gas prices these days.