Which causes which? Do spiraling gasoline prices make me sick? Or does sick behavior by the Persian mullahs prompt the rise in gas prices? Well, both, kinda-sorta. But that's not what the headline means.
Actually, what I am referring to is a hideous 24-hour flu bug that ravaged my 52-year-old body on Tuesday and Wednesday, taking me away from work, blogging, eating and doing much of anything else productive. My son suffered the same flu bug about 10 days ago while he was still home on Christmas break, so I may have picked it up off of something in the house.
I slept a lot, listened to talk radio as I faded in and out of sleep, and got to watch a couple of pretty good movies while I veg-ed out in the La-Z Boy. I would recommend "The Cooler" starring Alec Baldwin and William H. Macy. It's about an old-school casino and its ruthless mob bosses, and a loser (played by Macy) who's in hock bigtime to the big boss. I won't spoil it by revealing more, but those who like mob movies ought to check it out.
The other enjoyable flick was "Adventureland," a comedy-adventure starring Jesse Eisenberg ("Social Network"). It's set in Pittsburgh in 1987, and describes the memorable summer of a bunch of teens and 20-somethings working at an amusement park. I'm a big Lou Reed fan, and lots of his music is heard in the flick, as well as a lot of 1980s staples.
Yes, I know it's fashionable to mock and bash the 80s (big-haired girls, leg warmers, dime-a-dozen "hair bands," over-produced techno-rock, and huge mobile phones, yada yada yada... but frankly, I think a lot of that era's music was far superior to what's out there now, and it's not just because I was young then. The Psychedelic Furs remain one of my all-time favorite bands; give me Style Council, R.E.M., Tears for Fears, Simply Red and INXS over most of today's bands!
Well, anyway, enough of the trip down memory lane... Don't look now, but gasoline prices have been steadily rising in recent weeks. Iran has been rattling sabers about closing down the Strait of Hormuz, and now President Obama has predictably put the kabosh on the Keystone Pipeline as a pander to environmental kooks. Don't be surprised if we hit and surpass $4 per gallon within a few months -- even $5 per gallon is plausible.
As I've mentioned before, I live in East Lansing, Mich., and work in downtown Detroit, 90 miles away. I spend a couple of nights a week in suburban Detroit to avoid driving back and forth. The combination of rent and gas money takes its toll on the family budget, but I must be grateful to even have a job in this economy. However, if gasoline prices top $4 per gallon, which I believe is likely, that's an impetus that could necessitate drastic changes. More on that later.
But aside from my travails, think of the truckers, delivery services and contractors whose businesses will be devastated by higher fuel prices. Consumers already squeezed by unemployment, underemployment and debt will be hammered even more.
Europe's economic and fiscal crises will exacerbate our sick economy. Perhaps the only blessing in disguise is this would increase the chances of the American people firing Obama and bringing someone competent back into the White House. Darkest before the dawn? Let us hope so.
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