Hi, my name is JoesGarage, I'm powerless over gasoline and my life has become unmanageable. I've known I have a problem for a while now. At first, the little things didn't really bother me. You know the signs...
...driving 3 blocks to the market to pick up one item (2 or 3 times a day on the weekend); Stomping on the pedal off a red light so I can dart between the bus in my lane and the car to my left; leaving the motor running because "I'll just be a minute" at the cleaners; running the ac when it's 74 degress because I want to fully appreciate my car stereo. Sure, there were faint hints of discomfort. I knew I probably wasn't being smart, but hey, these were minor things. If something was wrong, I could deal with it later, or tomorrow. But slowly, over time, it became harder and harder to put these thoughts aside. I began to get uncomfortable more often. I began to worry about my relationship to gasoline. But still I pushed those thoughts aside, and my gasoline consumption continued to rise. Eventually, I was thinking about gasoline all the time. If the tank was getting low, I'd drive to the gas station in my pajamas late at night to fill-er-up. Just in case.
As gasoline became more expenisve I started to cut back on other items in the budget like food and medicine. One night I found myself breaking my statin in half to stretch the prescription. Before long it was clear to everyone in my little family that we were headed for the slipping down life.
But, I found that as things became tighter, the more I drove to escape my problems. Life at home had become tense, my spouse was angry, my children surly, the dog unresponsive. I didn't want to be at home and made up excuses to leave the house every evening and take long drives. It was during one of these, about midnight in rush hour traffic, when I realized the gasoline simply just wasn't working for me anymore. I was listening to the radio and happened on a debate about the merits of Hillary Clinton and John McCain's "gas tax holiday" proposal. As I realized what a hopeless and pandering proposal it was, I had a moment of clarity. Why, I was a dupe I realized, a pawn. This petty political gesture was a ruse, a dodge. I could free myself from my need for cheap gasoline!
I rushed home to my family and told them about the feeling of liberation I had. They embraced me. The next day instead of driving I walked to the grocery store and bought some fruit grown in New Zealand. It's been a few days now, and I'm pretty shaky. The glow wore off quickly and I'm struggling to cut back on my use of the "stuff". I need all the help I can get right now, and I sure hope passage of the gas tax holiday doesn't cause me to slip back into old and destructive habits.
Thanks for listening.