What we can do about the high cost of gas

Now here is an idea. We as a group can do little to drop the cost of gas but we can do quite a bit actually, to reduce how much we are paying...

For the last couple of years I have watched a couple of residents, Peter and Rose Clarke conduct an alternative lifestyle and thought not much about it. Now I am thinking they are on to something. These folks moved to LVH knowing they would not be using a car and never have.

They use Dial-a-Ride and they have restaurants make free deliveries... They don't pay for car insurance, tires or upkeep, no car payments. They have a free huge storage space attached to their home known to most of us as a garage.

If you are a Veteran and have to go to the hospital in Portland a free shuttle picks you up and brings you home... Want to go on a tour? Pay for a tour bus through the Senior Center. It will cost far less than 1 car payment would. There is a free shuttle to the Casino and back several times a day.

We are Americans though and grew up here where the car WAS king. Now, well now it is looking kind of expensive isn't it? The convenience of having the car at your beck and call does not come cheap anymore and it is slated to get worse. Prices of gas will soon be $10 per gallon predicts some economists.

Hey! WE as seniors do have an advantage that is not available to young folks.. We have time! We don't have to be somewhere at a specific time like people that have to work or tote children around.. Mostly we pick and choose when we want to travel... Dial a Ride works with that concept really well I'm thinking.

Still, I love my car... Question is when will that love begin to fade? At $5 a gallon, $6, $7, $8, $9, or $10 a gallon? $500 a year for insurance... $ 1000 a year, $1500, or $2000? Maybe the last straw will be tires (which are made from petroleum) when they cost $150 apiece? Mine are close to $100 each now. Who knows? I do know though that on a fixed income changes are on the horizon.

I might just try riding the dial a ride to see how it really is... We just had Chinese food delivered from Lee's Wok the other night.. Probably saved $3.00 in gas right there.