I never paid $3.00 for gas
I'm proud to say. I never paid more than $2.99. Take that, People in Charge of Gas Prices.

So, I may be an idiot, or just plain stupid, but I'm going to go ahead and admit that all of this gas price nonsense makes absolutely no sense to me. And I'd venture to say it makes no sense to any average car-driving American.

I don't understand OPEC. I don't understand why gas prices rise without reason, or because the wind changed direction in Drka Drkastan, Middle East. And I don't understand why every person in America can do nothing about it except be at the mercy of these OPECs or whoever is in charge of charging us relentlessly high prices for no good reason at all.

I mean, seriously. Just because New Orleans is under 20 feet of water, why does this justify a sudden price-hike for gas? Last week, New Orleans gets hit. The next day, gas starts it's climb to $3.00 a gallon, or higher in many places. Today, it's back down to $2.79 where I live. Yet, New Orleans is still under 20 feet of water.

It makes no sense.

Sure, there are oil refineries affected by Katrina. But, if we were to apply the same logic that we use to give reason for gas prices rising last week as a result of Katrina, as for any commodity that is unique to New Orleans or Louisiana, that would have to look something like this:

- All Harry Connick Jr. CDs should suddenly cost $59.00 each.
- Crawfish etouffe, gumbo, boudin sausage, and jumbalaya - now $97 per pound.
- Any jazz related instrument (piano, bass, guitar, drums, saxophone, trumpet) playing any jazz music in any jazz band across the country - we are now charging you $49.95 per hour to play, until jazz in New Orleans happens freely again.
- If you speak or understand Cajun - it should now cost you $12.50 per word to translate what you say or hear.
- Tabasco, made only on one tiny island of Louisiana - now costs $157 for one of those tiny little bottles.
- Phone calls to and from Louisiana - 139,000 cents per half minute.
- Any reference to the New Orleans Saints - $5.00 each.
- Any mention of Mardi Gras - $666 dollars each
- Mardi Gras beads, once free to those willing to flash - sorry, that will now be 7 flashes and a payment of $19.95 per strand of beads.
- Chunk of souvenir Superdome rubble - $108 dollars per chunk.

Here we are, giving of what we have, raising tons of money to give in support to the people of Louisiana affected by Katrina. Yet Gas People decide to punish us all by hiking prices. Think of how much more we could give if all of our money wasn't going straight to our gas tanks.

Katrina was just an excuse to hit the $3.00 mark sooner, rather than later.

I am thankful gas prices have gone down a bit. Who do we thank for that? But I do miss the days when it cost less than $30 to fill up the Jeep. I doubt that will happen again any time soon, if ever.

But hey, I have a few Harry Connick Jr. CDs, and a bottle of Tabasco I can sell you if you're interested. Might pay for a tank of gas this week...

C.T.