The Signs of Our Times

Have you been in your car lately? Did you have to fill up the gas tank as you were driving? Did you notice anything different at the gas pump?

Don't say this too loudly to anyone, but the price of gasoline is down dramatically. At least it is around here in East Texas, most especially at the four stations near my house.

I drove my sister to a doctor's appointment on Monday morning. As we passed the Citgo station I noticed the price per gallon of regular unleaded had dropped to $2.35. The Chevron station's price hovered at $2.39 a gallon, but the Exxon station's price had dipped to $2.33 per gallon. I was excited! Can you really say excited to describe seeing $2.33 a gallon? I remember feeling outraged at $2.33 two years ago.

My best friend and I have been planning our vacation for the past several months. We laid out trips to different sections of the country. Which one we decided upon at the last moment depended upon the price of gas. We took a risk last month and booked a cabin in the western mountains of North Carolina. A long drive, yes, but reachable in two fairly easy days. Our short run plans were to Eureka Springs if the price of gas had continued to climb as it had been doing all year. But the price of gas had begun a slow descent about 3 months ago.

Why? Dare I ask that question? Have the refinery companies decided that the obscene profits they made last year need to be tempered a little? I know it's not because the price of petroleum has crashed because end-product users have cut back on usage enough to make the company owners feel the pinch. I've had to stop and think, not twice, but about 5 times before making the decision to drive into town to shop. I put off doing anything I don't have to do in order to save gasoline. I don't fill up when I do need fuel. I only put in about 1/2 a tank unless I'm driving long distance. Are there enough other people doing the same sort of cutting back to have made a difference?

As far as the price of a barrel of raw petroleum, well I've been told that the price of gasoline is set not on what a barrel of crude is actually selling for but on a prediction of what it might cost at some undisclosed time in the future. A prediction of what it might cost? What gives these people the right to do that to us? I guess it's because they know they can, and we'll pay a quarter of our paychecks each month to keep our tanks filled. I have heard that more people are riding public transportation in cities where it is available, sales of high-consumption vehicles have dropped, buyers are trading in gas-guzzlers in favor of more economical cars, and I'd bet sales of hybrid vehicles have risen. Now, I haven't actually done any research on the subject, but I bet if I did my opinions would be supported.

Vacation is only two weeks away. My prayer is that the prices will continue to drop instead of rising as we leave and that prices are falling in other parts of the country as well. Wouldn't it be nice to see a 1 following the dollar sign again when we drive up to the pumps? Sigh. As the tired old saying goes, if wishes were horses then beggars would ride. Stranger things have happened.

kmparis