Gas Price Update: They’re still rising. Breaking news, I know. Lowest gas price I can find in my area (Mobile, AL) is $3.71/gallon. I’m far from being an economic analyst. But, you don’t need a PhD in economics to figure out the economy can’t sustain energy prices this high for much longer. Food prices, clothing, utilities…everything is going up. President Bush’s visit with the Saudi prince insured a “modest” increase in production of 300K barrels of oil a day. That isn’t even a drop in the bucket in the world market. OPEC has no incentive to increase production. They know once the oil taps out, all they have to export is lots of fine grain sand. President Bush told the Prince that high gas prices are going to spur research into alternatives fuel resources. Duh, ya think W? It’s a little late for this now, don’t you think? Research for a viable resource would take a decade, processing and refining the new product….aaaah forget it. We’re screwed and we owe it all to the foresight of our political leaders. If we had kept research and development going after the 1973 oil embargo, we would not be reliant on fossil fuels today.

It seems the older I get, the less patient I become. Patience is not something I’ve ever had in abundance in the first place. Something I don’t understand when you eat at a restaurant, why doesn’t the waiter or waitress just go ahead and bring you the check when they take your plates away? Yesterday morning at Cracker Barrel, I got tired of waiting and just headed to the cashier. Told her what I had for breakfast and she said she had to have the damn check. I said, I’m not waiting any longer. I don’t know what happened to my waitress. But, I told the cashier if I stay here any longer, I’m going to claim homestead rights. Manager came, apologized and I got a free breakfast. I didn’t want that because I thought the waitress (terrible service that she provided and all) would have to pay. He assured me that would not happen. I’ve got to learn to be more patient. Really.

Speaking of gas prices…both Honda dealers in my area are selling the Honda Civic at anywhere from 1-3K over the MSRP. And they still can’t keep them in stock. I get about 30 MPG in the city with my ’06 Honda Civic and about 40MPG on the highway. I got rid of my ’04 Jeep Liberty after gas prices rocketed to $2.79/gallon after Hurricane Katrina hit. How many people would be willing to pay $2.79/gallon now?

My neighbor’s big black cat, Tabu, discovered it wasn’t such a good idea to take on an opossum last night. Those things are mean, mean, mean. I heard screeching and wailing, got up from my couch to see what was going on. Tabu was hugged up against my front door. He had blood coming from his ears and nose. The opossum was about 20 feet away waiting to see if Tabu wanted anymore. I’m glad to report Tabu is just fine this morning after getting shots and medication from the vet (of course, he was happy to oblige my neighbors after regular work hours…mucho money). I suppose the opossum is just fine as well.

When I was a kid, I loved Major League Baseball. I followed the New York Yankees religiously. Mickey Mantle, Whtey Ford, Roger Maris, etc., were all my heroes. I still keep up with them somewhat. But, it’s not the same. I can’t even remember the last time I watched a baseball game on TV. That includes any game involving the Yankees. Maybe it has something to do with the incredible salaries they make now. I can’t relate to someone like Alex Rodriquez who has a $200 million dollar contract.

Finally, I can’t let Tuesday’s Rambling Thoughts go without thanking the “spectacular” young blonde, in the red Mustang convertible, who winked at me when we stopped at the traffic light last Friday. I had to look behind me to see if she was winking at someone else. That obviously made her chuckle. I don’t know if it was just a sign of endearment to a man who was obviously old enough to be her father (most likely). Or if she was just “play” flirting to make me feel younger (possible also). Or maybe she did it because she thought I was a “hunk” (yeah, right). But, that last remote possibility is the one that made me smile for the rest of the day. I needed an ego boost, dammit! Thanks sweetheart, whoever you were. No matter the reason, I was flattered. You made this old guy’s day.