Two-wheel world

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The average retail price of a gallon of regular grade gasoline in the U.S. rose to a new record high as the cost of a barrel of crude oil price continued its ascent, an industry analyst said on Sunday. The U.S. average retail regular gasoline price rose to $3.7929 a gallon on May 16, up nearly 17 cents in the past two weeks, according to the nationwide Lundberg survey of about 7,000 gas stations.

I haven't spent much time writing or talking about the price of gasoline. Partly because I think it's pointless and partly because it's like complaining about the weather. There isn't much we can do about it, so we just suck it up and pay.

There aren't too many things in life that we are forced to pay for. They could charge us 8 dollars a gallon and we would pay because we have to get to work - to pay for the gasoline. The government taxes the crap out of it for the same reason, just like they tax cigarettes and alcohol. Get us hooked and screw us over. I think there's a good reason why the gas pump is a big nozzle and it goes in the rear.

As for me, I'm fortunate enough to (a) have little to do on the weekends and (b) live close enough to the necessities that my car can sit for two days and I can walk or ride my bicycle. That's a decent strategy, but it only works if the weather cooperates, which is part of the reason the price of gasoline is so high. Sunday, for instance, the rain was due to start around 2 in the afternoon, so I had to make sure I had all my errands run before then.

On a simple 5 mile ride, I had three cars cut in front of me to make right turns. Besides the fact that these drivers startle me when they suddenly appear from behind and make a quick turn, the 5,000 pound weight difference is enough to make me worry a bit.

I'd ditch the car in a minute if I could get away with it. I live too far from work and there isn't adequate public transportation. I'm wondering if we'll soon see an increase in the amount of bus and train routes through the suburbs? People often need to be forced into changing their lifestyles. It isn't that we have to use our automobiles, it's that we want to. There's a big difference.

Of course, I thought hordes of people would quit smoking when cigarettes were a dollar a pack. They're closer to 6 dollars now, and generally, they only quit when they die. That leaves me wondering what parts of our lives people will cut to make room for their 70-dollar a week gasoline habit.

What doesn't kill us is supposed to make us stronger.