Over Sixty-Fives
Friday. Up relatively early to drive by the hospital for a routine blood test, a once a month trip to see if the blood thinner is still on the reservation, a drive back for breakfast at the usual place, then back to the apartment for a long bath. People who take short baths take “showers”. It is now eleven, the doctor's office having called earlier to leave a message (while I was in the tub) saying the blood thinner was behaving as it should, the sun is shining and it is Friday with a weekend ahead.
I did head out for the hospital and breakfast without a camera in tow, unusual for me, so I didn't take a picture of the gas prices at the 76 station this morning which was showing a gallon of regular going for $4.37 (and nine tenths), down from the $4.45 posted yesterday. If oil goes to $150 a barrel in another month, as one or two of the prognosticators were prognosticating this morning, my guess is we'll see $5.00 (and nine tenths) gas pretty quick.
Some part of it's due to speculation, of course, that's pretty obvious; some part to the machinations of the oil cartel (that's why you form a cartel: to jack up the price) and so it may be one day the speculators will bail and the price will go down, but how far and for how long? Whether by a lot or a little, my guess is we're at the beginning of a new inflationary world and there's no going back. Sucks for retirees on a fixed income. You know: food, health. Food. The future may be more exciting than I imagined and I was someone who imagined the future was going to be way more exciting than I was going to like.
Trade the Element in on a bike?
Could be. There'll be plenty of room on the roads what with no cars and all. Bike lanes may no longer be a problem, bike lanes, trike lanes: special bumper bike lanes for us over sixty-fives.
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