I put eight gallons in the car yesterday at Ramrod Key which is known as a slightly less expensive alternative to key West gasoline, perhaps 25 cents a gallon. I noticed the cost was down to four dollars a gallon even- the nine tenths bullshit doesn't actually fool me, I always round the price up to the nearest while number. Speaking with some Italian tourists in Key West struggling to understand metered parking they touched on the price of gas and I pointed out that unlike Canada and Europe we pay for our own medical care. Fancy a 50,000 dollar co-pay I asked, thinking of my colleague who got that bill from the hospital last month. Their eyes widened. 
I am waiting for Saudi Arabia to go up in flames. It seems to me they are barely tamping down dissent in their country, paying through the nose to improve conditions but not offer meaningful social change. When Saudi Arabia goes the way of all the other Middle Eastern countries in crisis the world will lose ten percent of oil production. In a bidding war China has three trillion of our dollars they don't need and we have sixteen trillion in up front debt. I'm guessing we aren't going to win any bidding war when oil goes into seriously short supply. We may well look back at four dollar gas with the same affection we remember the buck fifty gas of decades gone by.
I am waiting for Saudi Arabia to go up in flames. It seems to me they are barely tamping down dissent in their country, paying through the nose to improve conditions but not offer meaningful social change. When Saudi Arabia goes the way of all the other Middle Eastern countries in crisis the world will lose ten percent of oil production. In a bidding war China has three trillion of our dollars they don't need and we have sixteen trillion in up front debt. I'm guessing we aren't going to win any bidding war when oil goes into seriously short supply. We may well look back at four dollar gas with the same affection we remember the buck fifty gas of decades gone by. 
...but the transformation is astounding and very welcome. It was good to see big skies and clouds and miles of greenery once again. 
I have no idea where Monroe County finds the money to do these kinds of clean ups in the back country but I hope it stays this way for a while. 
It's the time of year when visitors from temperate climes take a break in the shade where they can find it, here at Clinton Square sharing it with a hopeful pigeon.
Key West is a place where riding a scooter is absolutely the norm. If you prefer to ride a bicycle you will be in the mainstream also. Indeed during the last hurricane evacuation city officials who calculate these things figured fully one third of Key West's residents had no car. (There was a constant stream of buses from the high school to the shelter in Kendall for people who wanted to leave town but lacked the wheels).
If you are 21 years of age and have health insurance you are allowed to ride without a helmet and to ride a 50cc scooter you only need a car license. Even insurance is optional. I think it's a shame that scooters are viewed as toys even as bicycles are in most of this country. There's a lot of talk in the US about eliminating dependence on foreign oil but in the picture above you are looking at the best way to do it. Are you ready? 
Noel of course gave Jessica grief when she came to work overtime on my shift a couple of nights ago. "Enjoy your prairie blooms" he snickered gayfully as he left the communications center. Working with Noel is a laugh a minute and he made the most of the flowers which caused some blushing in our easily embarrassed boss. Who does NOT like her picture taken... 
