Youngest Son was unusually full of himself this weekend to the point that, last night, I finally asked: "What's with you? Did you hear about the amendment to the Nebraska Safe-Haven Law or something?" His blush revealed all; he knows I can't take him to Omaha any more.
* * * * * *
Remember when gasoline prices were over $4 a gallon? (In this late June post I mentioned that prices were as high as $4.36 in my part of the Chicago area. They topped out around $4.60. Then, only a few weeks later, as this July 8 post documented, oil prices started to dip.Gasoline prices eventually followed. In this September 15 post I cheerfully recorded that the cheapest place in my area had dropped to $3.92... only to note that a day later the price jumped again to $4.09. On rumors of a hurricane.
Well prices are down to around $2 a gallon now, not yet three months later. The station I use most often is at $2.05 this morning; the national average was at $2.07 last Monday, and averaging less in the Midwest. I heard on the radio stations in this area that have actually dropped below $2.
Why were prices jacked up so high? Why have they come down so quickly? Don't tell me about the 'unseen hand of the market.' There were unseen hands here, alright, but not just market forces.
* * * * * *
I had just finished telling Long Suffering Spouse about all the work that has piled up on my desk. Believe it or not, while I've been blogging, I've also been getting new assignments and actually completing some of them. Others I've put off to the point where I can put them off no longer.This would, in most circumstances, be regarded as a good thing. But Long Suffering Spouse merely asked, "I suppose this means you're planning on going into work on Wednesday."
"You betcha," I replied, too quickly. Long Suffering Spouse gave me the Death Glare. For her part, my wife can not shake the suspicion that my need to go to work increases according to the number of kids at home... and I'll be picking Younger Daughter and Middle Son up tomorrow afternoon. Them and their laundry. I hope there will be room for all of us. And Older Daughter and Oldest Son are bringing their respective Significant Others to dinner on Thanksgiving so Long Suffering Spouse is in the midst of a Panic Clean-Up.
You may heap your opprobrium on me in the Comments. But I really do have a ton of work to do and I'm going to get to it promptly this morning.
3 comments:
I paid $1.91 for gas the other day. I was stunned. I live in California for Pete's sake! We always pay more. I think it was all speculation that drove prices up. We've been in a spectacular period of bubbles. Tech bubble, housing bubble, oil bubble, gold bubble-- virtually everything. That's why the fall out is so hard right now. All that excess is getting shaken out and unfortunately it's happening all at once.
Thanks for your great Party entry!
Why do mothers do "panic cleanups" for the very children who were raised by them in the same house? We know that they know how family life is, so who do we want to impress? Tell your Long Suffering Spouse that the women readers understand what she is going through..... we all do it, but just don't know why. For many years, I made perfect holiday meals and decorations and watched my grands terrorize the house in a few minutes. Now? I hide in Florida and hope someone will visit us here. Mothers and Grandmothers are nuts! You just stay at the office and out of her hair.
Post a Comment