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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, July 14, 2008 Don't want to go there? Blame high gas prices By Kristi O'Harran, Herald Columnist In my little world, there is an upside to the gas price crisis. We can use the high cost of petrol at the pumps to avoid going places we don't want to go. Say you don't want to go to your cousin's house in Walla Walla, because they have four small children and three big dogs. Just let them know you can't afford the drive. So sorry, can't make it. Say your special someone wants to drive to a chrysanthemum show in Puyallup. No can do, it costs too much for transportation. If your kids want to go to the beach in Edmonds and you are cleaning a closet in Maltby, simply say "Sorry kids, we have to watch our gas money." And a love story buff can halt trips to the movies to see action flicks, because the car is down to half a tank. See where I am going with this? Barbara Foster in Lake Stevens gets my drift. "Personally I am using it as an excuse to avoid grocery shopping," Foster said. "I hate grocery shopping, but there are some rumblings from the hubby that indicate an unhappiness with the 'Let's forage tonight' attitude I have taken toward meals." High gas prices give Kate Halstead a good excuse to work from her Monroe home more often. She is the Workshop Coordinator for Washington State University Snohomish County Extension in Everett. "High gas prices haven't really changed things for us all that much," Halstead said. "We're pretty much homebodies already, and the high price to go anywhere means it best be important or we just don't go." This isn't such a great thing to avoid: Lisa Palmatier, who lives in Edmonds, is putting off looking for a new job. "I'm justifying it by saying that I can't work too far away from home because of the gas prices," Palmatier said. She works part-time about 15 hours each week. Palmatier teaches art and cooking and coordinates the summer concert series for the Edmonds Arts Commission. Rather than make excuses for not going places, Arlene Birdsall of Lake Stevens got a more fuel- efficient vehicle. "I'm traveling about the same distance as before and spending about the same amount for fuel each month," Birdsall said. "Actually, I am remodeling, so that is my excuse for not going places." No excuses are needed for Bill Lider. He's been conserving fossil fuel energy for 10 years, knowing this day would come. "Unfortunately, most folks think that petroleum will last forever, or prefer to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the problem," Lider said. "And again we have lost the last eight years with a petroleum president instead of investing in alternative energy development." At the Dave Pearson house in Marysville, they used high gas prices as an excuse to stay home on the Fourth of July. "I hate being on the road where it's bumper to bumper on the way home or places are very crowded on the Fourth," Lider said. "My sister came over and we played poker and blackjack with our three kids and when it became dark, we shot off a few of the 'safe and sane' fireworks." During my August vacation, we thought it would be fun to drive to California, about 20 hours one way, with our 2- and 3-year-old granddaughters. We came to our senses and booked flights that would go back and forth to California with or without us. I decided to not play "Who can find a yellow car?" for 40 hours. Avoiding a tiring road trip with two toddlers is a swell excuse to save gas. Columnist Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.

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