My husband and I love road trips. Getting in the car and venturing out on the open road is heady stuff. We get to make decisions on where we go, how long it will take us and even how much we will carry.
Gasoline is an integral part of our automobile adventures. We estimate in advance what the cost will be and make pit stops based on the level of fuel in the tank. (Archaic, I know, but we have not yet advanced to vehicles that run on electricity, solar power or used cooking oil.)
My mother views gasoline pricing completely differently. She gave up driving at age 89 so her fascination with the current per gallon charge has nothing to do with the practicality of driving. It's her economic indicator. She judges the general state of the economy as well as the affordability of a town or area by the price of its gasoline. She forgets to factor in the effect of varying taxes, the up or down price for crude oil and other indicators, but that's for another blog. Mom just takes the price at its face value and assumes that it's a good reflection of the economy ~ local and otherwise. She should teach those guys in Washington a thing or two.
What really cracks me up is she has never put gasoline in a car in her life. Back in her day, station attendants used to pump gas for her. And when the full service stations became history, my dad used to fill the car for her. So why she's zeroed in on gasoline prices is a mystery to me.
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