Introductory OddnessWell, it all began when I was dangerously close to running out of cigarettes.... I'd received cigarette coupons in the mail from the Speedway/Starvin' Marvin/Bonded series of gas stations. They were great, at $3 off of the regular price! Of course, in Ohio, it seems like devices used for suicide (via Lung Cancer...) are more expensive than in neighboring Kentucky, so, those coupons brought the price in Ohio to about equivalent to the price, in Kentucky, without a coupon. So, I drove off in search of relief from my inevitable craving for nicotine (which, BTW, is almost certainly indicative of an Oral Fixation...). Well, coincidence being what it is, I was also close to a quarter tank of gasoline remaining in my car, which might be dangerous, as far as 'Fuel Line Freeze-Up', if the temperature dropped too far below freezing...so, I could get both gasoline and cigaretes in one trip! I love it when I can burn the same amount of gas yet achieve two goals at the same time! Unfortunately, as I was tooling over there, I realized that it was Thursday. Once upon a time, an employee of my Hometown Bonded gas station revealed to me that the Speedway/Starvin' Marvin/Bonded chain routinely raises their gasoline prices to 10 or 15 cents about the prevailing cost on Thursdays, and, if I remember correctly, this institutionalized practice was referred to as Price Leveling. I guess that it doesn't matter which euphemism they use, but, to me, 'Price Leveling' means that the cost of gasoline will be raised to an artificially high level, perhaps to make up for the lower prices that they support the rest of the week! So, there I was, driving 15 minutes to the nearest Bonded gas station, and, not only was I only going to achieve half of what I needed to, but, burning the gasoline that I was going to be charged too much for! Thank goodness that freezing temperatures weren't predicted for this week, eh? Nothing gets on my nerves like driving in order to search for inexpensive gasoline...by the time you'll actually find it (not realizing that there's a cheaper place just around the next corner...), you need to get more gasoline to fill your tank, and, the toll on your wallet will average out to be about the same!! Tomorrow, Friday, I'll return to that same Bonded gas station, and, for my trouble, will get gasoline at 10 or 15 cents cheaper per gallon...is that enough to make up for the additional wear & tear? On my nerves as well as the car? No...
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