Is This Trip Necessary?

This Saturday morning's plans have changed all due to a pipeline in Alabama. The colonial pipeline to be specific that runs from Houston to New York, that supplies most of the east coast with gasoline had a leak that was discovered September 9th. The pipeline is in the midst of repair but while that will take some time into next week, we here on the east coast will deal with a possible shortage of gasoline for the next week or so. Now you would think this Houston girl would have been the Paul Revere on this for sounding the alarm, but it was my friend Brenda who called me. She told me what her sister had experienced with the gasoline situation in south Asheville. Brenda was on her way to CVS to pick up meds but she would keep me appraised of the station situation as she drove. Are you kidding me? I was gathering my things heading out to fill up SequishShawn. Our phone conversation was getting broken up rather badly, due to the gasoline shortage....no, the squirrels out here weren't running fast enough to keep the cell lines open. I went to the Exxon station and there wasn't a line but I had passed lines at Ingle's and another station whose name escapes me right now. And who should pull up to another pump but Brenda. I was in the midst of texting Bill and Vivian, away from the pump because cell phones and gas pumps can be volatile, to fill up their cars. I read about the leak on Twitter earlier in the day but it didn't phase me when it should have. At first I thought it had been a refinery fire, but that didn't seem right for a refinery to be in the middle of the state of Alabama. Usually refineries are found along the coast due to easy access from pipelines and tankers. It felt a little like preparing for a hurricane. So, while driving to the Exxon station I called Roy just to let him know what I was doing, being out later and nearly dark Friday night. He didn't seem that concerned and told me what was probably happening and the scheduling of deliveries, telling me a big picture story, when I wanted him to listen to the "how this is affecting me story." And what I was doing and the adjustments I was making for weekend plans. When I got home I sounded the alarm to several friends and fixing to settle back in for the night, when Roy called. This time I could hear the concern in his voice because he had Googled the story and at first he thought maybe his company might have an interest in the pipeline but after researching it, they do not. Then he told me I had done the right thing by filling up the truck and he agreed with my change in plans for Saturday. You see, yes I am finally getting back to my first sentence in this very long paragraph, I had planned to go to Robin Blu today for their annual yard sale and 25% off everything in the store today. But that is in Waynesville. Even though this "crisis" should only last a week, that little part of me being a responsible adult and preparing for unexpected emergencies (are any emergencies really expected?) is in play. When I would watch Bugs Bunny cartoons as a kid, several times the phrase, "Is this trip necessary, would show up in the dialogue. I asked my mom what that meant and she explained about rationing in WWII. So I have asked myself, is this Saturday trip necessary?  The plans have changed, I am easing into the day and a garage project I have been procrastinating might get a little attention today. And maybe just because I am paying more attention to this, it doesn't seem that there are as many cars and trucks on the road as usual. It is a quiet Saturday morning in the country.

Yesterday, while running a few errands, I heard a discussion on one of the comedy channels on Sirius radio. Now the man speaking had a heavy country/southern accent and some people will dismiss what a funny redneck is saying, but his soliloquy drew me in. He was talking politics or maybe it was more talking about the candidates. What he said made sense...although he kept repeating himself after making valid points, which takes away from the effectiveness of a major point. Before I paraphrase what he said, I am not dissing or endorsing this candidate nor am I implying I endorse her opponent. But what this radio redneck said was this; Hillary's handlers are just trying to get her across the finish line and they will deal with any illness after she has secured the presidential vote. Like all candidates running for major offices and probably minor ones too, they have made promises to major contributors who want a return on their money and they can't keep those obligations if she is not in the office and thus might hurt any contributions for that party down the line. The guy went on to say because Hillary has been known to lie or it is her campaign on issues, this was an opportunity to tell the truth, set the record straight but he understood the risk of that, again referring to those who are in power behind the scene. I never thought about the notion it could be just getting her across the finish line. If he talked about Donald Trump faults and discrepancies, I missed it cause my errands came before the ending of the program. No, it is not rather convenient, it's the truth. Grocery shopping, ahem...trumps sitting in a truck listening to a radio show.

Reports are coming that fist fights are breaking out at some service stations and that cars are lined up while others are throwing caution to the wind and driving madly about trying to find gasoline. Meanwhile I have made a huge dent in the garage project and have even enjoyed some porch rocking time. The wind and temps aren't too bad. I fixed some lunch, ordered some stuff from Sephora and have generally enjoyed the day. I have lots of clothes to fold and put away from doing the laundry the past few days.

Roy found the cutest birdhouse for next spring and the guy he is buying it from will paint the roof red. I think the house will go out in the redbud tree. Once winter arrives and the forsythia is just bare branches, we will clean out the blue bird house and put some red tin on the top of it. I'm sure I will find a few more houses for these birds I love. On a sad note, I found a deceased butterfly in the backyard last night. Its wings were so soft and this little butterfly was sporting some rocking polka dots.

Probably in the next few days I will ask myself several times, is this trip necessary? I will be thrilled when the gas supply returns to normal and I can resume the drives about the countryside.