Friday, June 20, 2008

Commentary: EXPENSIVE GAS, what is the cost of convenience?

Today I drove to a nearby town to do a little work. My drive was great. The sun was shining bright, and the grass and trees were green and beautiful. I wasn’t in a big hurry so I just turned on a little talk radio and enjoyed the drive.

The talking heads on the radio were all concerned about the high gas prices. I too like to complain about high gas prices, so I enjoyed the ranting. One of the radio voices suggested a return to the 55 MPH speed limit as a way of conserving gas. Liking the idea of saving gas (money), I slowed down to a more energy efficient speed. It made me feel very much like my grandmother -she always seems to be going a speed very different from everyone else on the road (at least I stayed in the right hand lane).

So there I was, in the right lane, driving slow, and listening to the radio go on-and-on about gas prices. In my mind I was imagining the other drivers on the road were also complaining about gas prices. Then I asked myself the obvious question: If these other drivers are also mad about high gas prices, why don’t they slow down too?

That is when it hit me…

Complaining about the high cost of gas is really just complaining about the high cost of convenience. I want to drive fast, but I don’t want to be burdened by the additional cost of fuel associated with that convenience. I want to a drive big comfortable car, but I get annoyed by the cost of that convenience too.

My rants about the price at the pump are just rants about the cost of the convenient and comfortable lifestyle that I have chosen. I am blessed that rising fuel costs are only an annoyance for me.

1 comment:

mhcs said...

One day we had to get somewhere on I-15 and we were low on gas, so we drifted over to the slow lane and went 55. I've been a fan ever since. (Never realized how stressful it is to go down the highway at 70.)

It's especially if you have some John Denver going. We're pretty much honorary bluehair drivers now.