Gas Prices

The whole country is up in arms over fuel prices. Rightly so. It impacts every area of our lives.

I am lucky that I have a fuel-efficient car and since I work from home, my gas consumption is far below the norm.

Wouldn't it be nice if people took this challenge and made some changes? Instead of bopping to the mall or running around town, what if they ate in and played board games? Instead of plotting and planning a family vacation, what if they camped out in the family room or the back yard?

What if? Maybe instead of the resort, the kids could catch fireflies or teach the dog a new trick. How about hide and seek or tag? Do kids play this anymore? Instead of driving to endless destinations, maybe a book might be a fun diversion.

In every struggle, there's supposed to be a silver lining. Maybe the silver lining is learning that happiness is not in driving or flying somewhere. Maybe it's right there in your home. Maybe it's a dog that learns to shake your hand. Maybe it's a spirited board game. Maybe it's a DVD that crosses generations. Maybe it's going through photo albums and saying, "Look at you!"

This is easy for me to say because the children of this house are grown. However, we did have them both in the same room last Sunday. We did not use a bunch of gas. We threw a tenderloin on the grill and played board games. I highly recommend it.

Contacts

This is not about your vision. It's about your ability to find whomever you need.

Beyond my magic black book with all of my friends and family's contact info, I keep several rather extensive contact lists:

Clients and previous clients,
Vendors and suppliers,
Household, i.e. plumber, electrician, etc.,
Doctors (I have always known how to reach my doctors but I made a much larger list when the oldies were in our care.)

One of my rules is I refuse to do business with anyone, especially a physician, who will not give me his or her cell phone or home phone number. I have yet to run across a professional person who will not comply. I'm a pretty cautious person and I will not call any of these people at home unless absolutely necessary. When it's necessary, I don't want to waste time.

Because this is an election year, I'm super attuned to politics. Your hot buttons may not be mine, but I hope you know them. Do you know how to reach:

The President (or at least, the White House,)
Your Governor,
Your Mayor,
Your Senators,
Your House Representative?

In your state, do you know how to reach:

Your Prosecutor,
Your Secretary of State,
Your Chief of Police,
The Editor of your local paper?

If you have children in school, do you know how to reach:

The Superintendent and members of the school board,
The principal of your child's school,
Your child's teachers?

Lots of us are complaining about gas prices, the economy, education, our service people in Iraq and Afghanistan, the dismal state of social security, taxes, etc. Maybe it's just pot holes on your street. Many of these people are elected officials. Even the ones who are not elected still want to hear from the people.

Do you let them know what you think? If you're reading this, you have access to the Internet. All of this information is available online.