Out of Gas

When the People moved to Asheville, their eyes were opened to a different kind of lifestyle encouraged by the people and local retailers of the city. A lifestyle more considerate of other people, more aware of the global environment and more centered on community and local sustainability. They began eating organic meat and dairy, buying locally grown farm products and enjoying the eclectic cuisine offered by local restaurants instead of patronizing chains. Woman has always considered the people of Asheville on a whole to be more level-headed and dare I say, special. Asheville has a certain patient meekness to it, allowing other cities to cut in line and gladly sharing her bounty with strangers. Yes, it's a hippy-eye view, isn't it?

This weekend Woman's view of Ashevillians was knocked down a few pegs when the entire city jacked the price of gas up to a high of $4.79, followed by a complete exhaustion of supply. Beginning Friday night, there was no gas to be had in the city or the surrounding area. The media had thrown western North Carolina into a gas-guzzling frenzy, warning that the shortage could last up to 10 days due to Hurricane Ike. In the same paragraph, the media recommended people not buy gas if they had a quarter tank or more, but then went on to warn that there could be no gas for over a week. The people of Asheville bought into the media's sensationalism and gulped down every drop of available gas. Although there was no gas on Saturday, the petro trucks started rolling into town on Sunday. The price is still sky-high, but of course the shortage did not last as long as the media jerks claimed it would.

Woman still loves Asheville, but she is a little disappointed by what happened this past weekend. It seems that many in Asheville dropped the brain and reached for the gas pump instead. If everyone had remained calm and just chilled out, gas would not be $4.21 right now. Now that it is this high, it's going to be interesting to see if/when it goes back down to $3.58. It's sad that $3.58 is considered "low" right now.

As a side note, my People did not contribute to the depletion of gas in Asheville, but rationed their remaining gas to last for the next week.