$45.26 @#*%!
Kim Matthews Wheaton prepares a display of her oil on canvas paintings last Wednesday. Matthews Wheaton is a local painter whose works will be exhibited at the Noon Moon Coffee House and Dessert Bar until the end of September.<br>Pam Robel/Herald staff writer
$45.26… @#*%!
That's the price I just paid to fill up my quasi fuel-efficient car, and that's the reaction I have seen most people have in recent weeks to similar price tags. But not me.
It's been too hot a summer to break a sweat over the perpetually rising price of gasoline. If we're going to have to endure high prices, it's much easier a task to have a little fun while waiting in line for the pump.
First of all, it's not all bad. Higher pump prices have given complete strangers a subject other than the weather to talk about while waiting in line. It's just too bad we're all waiting in line to get unleaded at $2.95 per gallon.
There are plenty of ways to still have a good time without resorting to "Zoolander"-like gasoline fights.
The pump is putting a pinch in all our pocketbooks, but gas stations don't appear to be ghost towns. Those of us who need it are still buying gas, so we might as well make the "pay at the pump" experience a fun one. There are plenty of ways to still have a good time at gas stations without spending more money or resorting to illegal practices.
Without offering any actual help, I'm proposing these absurd tips:
? Imagine the quickly ascending price tag on the pump as a one-armed bandit. I'm still hoping for four sevens.
? Do a little jig around your car, and show other gas pumpers that enthusiasm at a gas station can be as contagious as the flu through an air duct.
? Take advantage of the perks every time you fill up; like the paper towels to check your oil, or that thingy you can wash your windows with.
? Calculate mathematically how far you can travel on $1, and then compare to how far that same $1 would get you in six months from now (Caution: This one requires the ability to see the future).
? Look for out-of-state license plates. Chances are you've paid less for gas lately than that sucker.
? Remember that by not paying your gas bill you're going to be getting more bills from collection agencies. And who doesn't like more mail?
Some of these examples are a bit crude, but I'm looking forward to refining them the next time I fill up. That may be a while though, I've decided to sell my car to pay for my next gas bill.
Brad W. Gary is the city and politics reporter for the Columbia Basin Herald, and is in denial about his gas card bill this month.