My Little Utopia

I don't know if it's actually true or not, but supposedly gas stations in Georgia are closing their doors at 3PM EST and not re-opening them for at least two days. It has to do with Katrina and a broken gas line or something. I had a doctor's appointment at lunch and he and his nurse told me. The nurse told me the news right before she decided to take my blood pressure, which raised my blood pressure to 140/90, so she had to take it again...114/86...when I calmed down. I get worked up easily. The nurse told me she'd seen or heard it on TV, and I was so anxious that I could hardly wait to leave the doc's office. I went as fast as I could and found gas at the bargain basement price of $2.70. You read that right...it's a bargain. On my way back to work, I saw $2.93, $2.95 and the dreaded $2.99.

As I type this blog right before 3PM, I wonder if all the gas stations will really be closed on my way home. After the Y2K scare and the terror alert being raised to "SEVERE" just because Muslims were in their days of pilgrimage, known as Hajj, I can't help but wonder what's true and what's not. Remember Y2K? Everything was supposed to crash, and the world was supposed to be in disarray. The fact is that we could even check our email on January 1, 2000. No big deal. Everything was pretty much just fine. And I remember working in DC and the terror alert being raised to the highest of the high. Yeah, it was when Muslims were finishing up their yearly pilgrimage, a time of praying and reflection. But we all know what the government thinks when Muslims get together...

Anyway, I really hope all the gas stations are open on my way home. I'm glad Y2K was really no big deal, except that old checks with 19__ needed to be thrown away. Obviously, Muslims weren't going to leave a pilgrimage en masse to wreak havoc on the world.

I guess the scare tactics work, though. I filled up my car and alerted my co-workers to what I had heard. My parents had a few extra things around in preparation for Y2K. I remember walking through our nation's Capitol on the day that the terror alert was the reddest of the red, and I had to walk by a man with a machine gun to get inside.

Oh, but if he knew I was Muslim...

Why do people like to scare us? I don't know. Why do we like to scare ourselves? I admit seeing "Red Eye" this weekend and watching parts of it through slits between my fingers. I guess it's the thrill that we seek.

But it's not funny to play with people's emotions when it comes to safety. I really hope this gas thing isn't true. I hope no scary stories about another Depression coming or this and that ever come true. I guess when it comes down to it, I'll take a bark with no bite if it means my little utopia gets to stay just the way it is.