By Judy Reiss
There are so many things that I find either interesting or annoying these days that I have to contain myself when I sit down to the computer to write. Oh, and I no longer have McKinley to type for me, so it is just me typing and of course, just me to correct all the mistakes that I make! And I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about this week until I had to go to Newport, Vermont to see my cardiologist (whom I love). Before I even begin, I want to share with you what my surgeon told me last week. Never, ever go to a doctor who you don’t like! And I got that information because I shared with him how much I disliked a certain doctor. He was a good and knowledgeable doctor with the bedside manner and personality of a military toad! And it was then that Dr. Aros told me his words of wisdom. “Never, ever go to a doctor you don’t like, regardless of his knowledge.” And that advice has changed my life. I see a lot of doctors and I have always “loved” them all, until this one that I really didn’t like.
With that advice I now feel a lot better, I immediately changed to a doctor that it turns out I really, really like. So, there is my advice that I am just passing long to you. And if you are older and your children are whining at you and telling you to just soldier on and be quiet, forget what they say. If they like the doctor, you don’t tell them to go see him because you are not! And there is the second piece of advice for the day, don’t let your children bully you into something that you don’t want to do. A little loving advice is one thing but to insist on their way is no longer acceptable! Stand right up and if you feel yourself starting to waver, think of me!
Here is my real problem of today, that got even worse when we traveled from Waitsfield to Newport on Route 100. Almost every where we passed through the price of gasoline was different! Now, here is my first question — what has happened in the world that has caused the price of gas to go up, oh about 30 cents a gallon in what appears to be the blink of an eye? And the Mad River Valley seems to be right at the top of the list price of gas wise Malcolm used to tell me that the gas stations that were so much cheaper was because they were closer to the refineries. And believe it or not, I believed that fairy tale. Now, even I can’t swallow that myth! One day, the past week, here in the Mad River Valley a group of stations in town were about $2.24 a gallon and one other station a little out of the way was $2.04! And as hard as I tried, I couldn’t find the refinery that was allowing them to make such an amazing difference, price wise!
Let’s forget the difference between stations, just tell me how this works…Every so often the gas in Montpelier is a lot less expensive than the gas in Burlington, Why, I have no idea. And then all of a sudden the whole thing changes. Now Burlington is cheaper and the Montpelier area is more expensive and bringing up the rear. But what I really want to know is why is the cost of gasoline gone from almost affordable back to expensive and knowing no limit? Again, if we were told that the world’s refineries had melted away and gas had to be delivered by tankers from God only knows where and the cost of actually getting it to our stations in Vermont had gotten so much more expensive, it would be one thing. But to my knowledge, nothing, absolutely nothing has changed in the world of gas. In fact, the cost of oil, per barrel, has gone down and continues to do so. Shouldn’t that translate into cheaper gas and heating oil? Well, it certainly doesn’t.
And just to annoy me further, I don’t know where you live but the ability to ride a convenient bus is just not available. Also, unlike Europe or other places, we don’t have a train or any other transit system that can take us from one place to another in a timely fashion! Without a car, most Vermonters are like a turtle, just stuck on his or her back.
So, if we go to back to why has gas suddenly gone way up in price, the answer is probably two fold. Number one is the powers that be became unhappy because they only made millions of dollars instead of billions! Oh, how sad. And then most of us know the number two is the summer season, which translates into more people going on vacation and traveling, which means buying more gas. And the oil barons, are able to charge whatever they want for gas. Now if you don’t believe me, think about it, have you ever seen or heard about the price of gas going down in the summer season when tourists are traveling? Not in my lifetime.
I promise not to talk about gas prices any more, unless of course, they go way down! So you can be pretty sure I won’t. Although it certainly isn’t warm and May flowers haven’t poked their lovely heads above the frozen mud, maybe summer will come, someday. Think spring and fantasize about summer and just be thankful we live in Vermont and as yet, don’t have tornadoes, wild floods or mud slides. Cold maybe, but I love Vermont!