It looks like Columbus Day is still the targeted date for metro Atlanta to begin having a normal supply of gas.  Most gas stations (at least one by our home and on my way to work) are still completely wiped out and when they do get gas (usually only regular blend), the lines form immediately.  The two gas stations that I saw that had gas yesterday had lines of ¼ mile into the street.  Dekalb County police were actually directing the lines on the gas stations’ premises. 

Unless I’m missing something about how fuel is supplied, I thought the temporary relaxing of the EPA standards was supposed to at least somewhat help with the shortage but as of this morning it hasn’t helped in the least (at least not in our area).  Gas trucks now are becoming a modern day pied piper, being stalked until they reach a gas station to unload.  I’m surprised we haven’t seen or heard more reports of violence from desperate people or angry people who have had disputes about who is in order of which line they’re waiting in.  With vehicles having gas caps on either side, the long lineups present a difficulty if someone is in a line to fuel up and their gas cap is on the opposite side.  People backing into their spots, others meeting each other head on with little room to maneuver, traffic jams due to the lines spilling over into the streets – it’s amazing we haven’t devolved into an “everyone for themselves” riot at one of these hot spots.

I’m glad I only have to work 3 days this week before our vacation, with one of those days being a telecommute day.  This means I won’t have to attempt to fill up again until some time next week.  I’ve been suspicious of the gas that I got from Shell last week.  The only blend they had was “premium” for the low, low cost of $4.50 a gallon but the reason I’m suspicious is that nowhere else in the area has premium gas.  If there’s gas, it’s the 87 octane variety only.  My car didn’t sound right this morning and I’m tending to believe we all paid for “premium” gas and that it actually is below 87 octane.

What a clusterfuck.  To hell with milk, bread and water – gas has crept into our life as a necessary staple.  It’s times like these when it becomes attractive to hunker down in some compound and arm yourself to the teeth and hope like hell that the crazed masses don’t try to raid your food stash.  Chances are it would never get to that situation but I can say with conviction that Atlanta, like a lot of our country, is a city that would delve into total chaos if our lifelines were broken (gas, water, electric).