Panic-Stricken Streets
Iíd like to blog all positive trivialities all the time, but with everything thatís been happening I find it impossible to avoid at least a little bit of venting.
It took me two hours to take a 20-minute drive from my office to my house yesterday evening. No, it was not because of construction or regular trafficóit was because of the ìGas Scare.î Lines of cars and SUVs poured out of every gas station parking lot and into main streets. I actually watched people fight at the pumps, one yelling that the other was taking all the gas or taking too long.
No matter which alternate route I tried to take, the streets were practicallyóand in some cases literallyóblocked, and I sat in a virtual parking lot. While at some moments I was overcome with frustration, I was mostly saddened by the harsh reality that people can so easily revert to the sort of crazed behavior we associate with some animals. It sort of reminded me of ìWar of the Worlds,î where Spielberg did a great job of showing audiences what we turn into in emergency situationsóexcept yesterdayís gas incident wasnít even a real emergency. Anyway, I hope not to see this sort of thing repeat itself.
Yeah, it took me an hour and a half to make a seven-mile drive from the MARTA station to my house. The last 20 minutes or so of that was spent trying to make a right turn onto my street.
The lines at QuickTrip had traffic backed up for at least a half-mile in either direction on South Norcross-Tucker.
>>Crazed behavior we associate with some animals.
Really, is that sort of stereotyping appropriate in this day and age? Sure, I lick my genitals, sniff other dog-butts and hump the cushions of my owner’s couch, but I’d never ever ever fight someone over gasoline.
Woof.
Woof – Now I’m really scared :-P
There was a gas crisis in the mid-70’s where they went to even-odd day gas rationing.
In 1979 there was another. A couple of times I got into gas lines early in the morning, only to be sent away when the gas station closed at 10 AM. It was bad. I wound up quitting my job, siphoning the last gallon of the gas out of my car into my motorcycle, and looking for a job closer to my house. At a huge reduction in pay. It didn’t matter that I could afford the price hike – it just wasn’t available!
At this point I have a “Classic” Prius. It still uses gasoline, but it doesn’t gulp it.
I’m hearing reports that people are cancelling their Memorial Day shore trips because of gas prices. PEOPLE! It’s not worth skipping the holiday over it. Find a shorter way to work next week. Park the damned SUV and use your kid’s nissan.
Wow – you’ve had this experience more than once! Seems like you know how to deal with it too. Rock on!