One Ninety-Six Nine

As a little shaver growing up a generation ago, I can tell you that summertime sometimes felt as if it would never end.

No cable tv. No internet. No cellphones. No easy and accessible forms of entertainment. That translated into a lot of sandlot baseball games and evening challenges of hide-n-seek.

It also produced an annual week-long visit to the grandparents’ house.

During that week, driving around with my mother’s father was usually on the docket.  A visit to his garden; maybe (if you were lucky) a stop at a quickie mart to buy some baseball cards.

And one thing I definitely remember about those outings was his curious habit of calling out gasoline prices as we drove along.

• Fifty-nine nine.
• Sixty-nine nine.
• Seventy-nine nine.

You know how gas stations display their price per gallon. It’s always done in terms of dollars, cents (and percents of cents which, as an aside, I’ve never really understood).

The totals called out by ol’ Dave reflected those nomenclatures (only in those days, there were no dollars; just cents…as in that gas prices were so much cheaper…well under a dollar per gallon).

Imagine what he would have done with the gas prices we’ve seen over the past years? Maybe too many numbers to chant out in sing-song format. Three dollars and ninety-nine cents soon approaching four dollars…doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

Still, it’s topical. Commentary on high gasoline prices has become the modern day version of “How’s the weather?”

• “Man, can you believe how high these gas prices are?”
• “Wonder if it’ll hit five dollars a gallon?”
• “I heard the prices are outrageous in California!”

You get the drill. 

For years, political folks on the left blamed high gas prices on the former President and “his oil buddies.” Then, when administrations changed, I didn’t hear that line so much. And as prices have been falling, I haven’t heard what the explanation has been. Drill baby drill, perhaps?

Of course, we’ve all rejoiced in the plunging prices of the last few months no matter the reason. As Lisa noted, the falling price at the pump was well timed. It put a lot of money in the pockets of folks who might’ve been struggling to meet their Christmas budget or take care of high heating prices this winter.

As the prices fell through the “two dollar range,” it felt like a celebration to fill up. Picture the imaginery happy dance when I gassed up tonight.

One Ninety-Six Nine!

I said it out loud. Even used the sing-song. You can do it along with me.

Onnnnnne Niiiiiiineteeeee-Sixxxxxx Niiiiiiiine.

Felt nice.

I’m not sure what is behind the psychology that makes it feel like a victory to locate a gas price less than two dollars per gallon. Maybe there is something celebratory in just seeing that single ‘1’ at the front of the price. No crooked numbers.

Who knows how low they may go? Is something in the $1.90 range the bottom or will prices go lower? When might they bounce back up?

I’m not an economist and I don’t care to be a financial forecaster. I’m just pleased to say I filled up the Jeep yesterday and didn’t break the budget. Who knows? Maybe there’s a little left-over for a cup of coffee (if I drank coffee).

JG

Originally posted 1/6/2015