Labor Day

We hope everyone enjoys the long weekend. The registry was busy up until about 12:30 p.m. today and then all the customers disappeared, presumably to get an early start and enjoy the beautiful weather. No one was talking about vacation plans, though, because everyone's thoughts are on the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the unbelievable scenes of devastation and deprivation that appear on TV and in the newspapers. But equal time was given to the sky rocketing prices of gasoline. Only days ago, we were predicting that demands for heating oil this winter might drive gas to $3.00 per gallon. Tonight, however, everyone around here is longing for gas at a mere $3.00 per gallon since the price zoomed from $2.50 to $3.25 in little more than the blink of an eye. This is the kind of economic earthquake that could precipitate some real problems with our economy and the housing market. Sorry to be so gloomy at the start of the holiday weekend, but being old enough to remember quite well the effects of fuel shortages in 1973 and 1978, I'm not optimistic about the next six months.