In April 1999, the gas tax was a grown folks problem as my high school classmates and I walked home from school because barely a taxi could be seen in Spanish Town. The sights of old appliances and burning tyres used to block roads were intriguing and we were unbothered. Twenty three years later, things have changed. We are grown folks, it's no longer funny and nothing burns, except our pockets.
"Let me see how much this gas is being sold for before I join the line," I said to my friend on the phone yesterday as I entered a gas station. He responded, "They're all above $200, so don't bother, just buy it". This was a Kingston location and I find St. Catherine to be more affordable, so I decided to trust the tank and trust the KM reading and head to familiar territory.
I've been topping up at a cheaper gas station for the past year or so, but lately I'm not so sure it has been working out. I'm visiting the pump too often. So, I decided to return to a more expensive one that I used to buy. I know, it sounds crazy. People are perhaps more inclined to buy at the cheap ones in these times. Interestingly though, I've noticed that the more expensive one lasts longer! Oh yes!
This week, in a race against the pumps, I also decided to make other adjustments to my commute. I left home 30 minutes earlier. This meant prepping everything overnight and adjusting my alarm clock to 30 minutes earlier. Malik has been a trooper, adjusting nicely to the change and using the early arrival time at school to "exercise", according to him. Left to me alone, we would sit in the car. On the third day, he came and told me to get out of the car. Before we knew it, another boy was "exercising" and us mothers had a nice chat while we watched them. Now, it has become a 'thing' and the morning conversations are growing on me to a point where I have to check my watch and make a mad dash for the car to head to the office. The say "a child shall lead them."
Sometimes life kicks us outside our comfort zone and we find joy in a new space. "The early bird catches the most worms", they say. As I go to bed earlier, awake earlier, leave home earlier, arrive at school and work earlier, I look forward to my worms. A week ago, I was frustrated and exhausted cussing about gas prices and traffic. It got me nowhere so I decided to do something about it until God does something about these gas prices.
This week, my gas lasted longer. It's Friday afternoon and I return to my favourite Rubis gas station and the pump attendant greets me with a warm smile "Good afternoon. Welcome to Rubis. Are you filling up with Ultra Tec 90 today?" I respond, "Did you say fill up? You got jokes, right?" We both blurt out a hearty laugh and I tell her the exact amount to put in it, getting close enough to that magical click!
Before these gas prices got out of hand, I was quite accustomed to the click. Now, I don't want to hear it because I don't wanna know the real cost of hearing that click! Sanity people. Sanity. Yes, it may mean I have to top-up again but I'll take my chances. In the meantime, I lean on The Serenity Prayer because I've never been quite the type to burn anything and I wouldn't want to end up being assigned to Helga in stripes. Plus, I have bills! 😎👌🏾
I Am Suzette Campbell
Note: Originally published on February 19, 2022
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