| Fill 'er Up (ha, ha, ha) |
April 3, 2008
by Bonnie Davis
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Don't know what the price of fuel is where you hang your halter but here in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, gasoline is around $3.50 a gallon and up with diesel hovering at $4.50 a gallon and up. Yesterday a station I went by on the way to the barn had diesel at $4.49 and when I drove back home and by the same station, it was $4.59 a gallon. That's a ten cent per gallon jump in less than 24 hours. They anticipate diesel reaching $5/gallon by the first of July. So driving in and fillin' up my truck is really becoming a laughing matter!!
I can remember when gasoline was 25 cents a gallon. When it went to 35 cents a gallon my dad had a fit. "What's this world coming to?" he'd mutter as he'd fill up the old truck. Of course that was when a McDonald's hamburger sold for a quarter and a Big Mac was REALLY a Big Mac!! You could even go to a movie for less than a dollar and still have enough change left over for popcorn and a Coke. Now one can't get into a theater for any less than a ten dollar bill. Like my dad said, "What's this world coming to?"
But regardless of what the price of fuel goes up to, I've got my plans made for going trail riding and still enjoying trails. I just won't haul as far and now I'll find out what some of those trails in my own backyard look like. I'll ask a friend to haul with me and maybe even plan a night of camping at the local regional park. Instead of stopping for a meal, I'll pack my own lunch and eat it under a tree somewhere along the trail. And I'll make sure my diesel is tuned up and running right so I can get another mile or two out of every gallon of fuel.
Sometimes it seems we take things for granted. Nothing will ever change. And when it does change, it catches us off guard. It's like the sky has suddenly fallen and we're running around like a chicken trying to get things right. Actually what we should do is take a deep breath, find a tree to sit under and contemplate how to make the best of the situation that has come along. We can be our own worse enemy sometimes -- tend to jump into a fire before we really figure out just how hot the frying pan will get!
So before you start canceling your trip plans, think about ways to still take that journey. Maybe it will be just a jaunt down the road a few miles or out the back pasture gate and into a neighborhood park. Or maybe it will be an overnight camp out IN the back pasture -- why does one have to drive miles to overnight camp when you can just go over the hill from the barn?
But one thing is for sure, unless you've won a state lottery -- never, never go into a service station anymore and say "Fill 'em up." If one doesn't have money to pay for a meal in a restaurant you wash dishes. I'm not sure what one does if they say "fill 'em up" in a service station and don't have the cash to pay for the fuel.........
Stay safe and slow down, you'll get more miles to a gallon if you drive at 55!
Bonnie
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