5 APR 05: HIGHER AND HIGHER

On Friday morning, it was $2.01. On Friday night, it was $2.09. Then Monday, the standard price for regular unleaded gas in Columbus jumped to $2.15 a gallon. I'm almost ready to buy gas cans, fill them up and hold them as investments.

How high is the price of gasoline? The Citgo truck stop in Phenix City had premium unleaded Monday for $2.45. So now you know why that CB&T banker goes to truck stops in commercials -- because drivers need loans simply to fill their tanks.

The Columbus price of $2.15 a gallon is still good, compared with the rest of the country. Statistics released Monday put the national average at about $2.22. But I almost wish they wouldn't give local convenience stores any ideas....

(Don't you wonder if lottery sales at convenience stores are up - because with high gas prices, customers are more desperate to hit the jackpot?)

The soaring price of gasoline is affecting all sorts of people. Officials with the East Alabama Food Bank noted Monday their budget for last month was more than double that of March a year ago. Is that simply because of fuel? Or are leftovers harder to find, because children actually are cleaning their plates?

So what are oil companies doing with all the money from higher-priced gas? ChevronTexaco announced Monday it's buying Unocal, the company of "Union 76." There's nothing quite like a little greed, to inspire a whole lot more....

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago that gas prices normally go up when spring begins. But 14 cents a gallon in three days?! I'm buying fuel, not stock in an Internet company.

Crude oil futures traded above 58 dollars a barrel Monday - and one so-called expert told the "Nightly Business Report" Monday night the price of crude might have to top 100 dollars before things settle down. I usually support freedom of speech, but people like this should shut up for a few weeks....

Some investors believe there's a "bubble" in the futures market, and oil prices soon will drop. This makes sense to me - especially since the theme song to the "Beverly Hillbillies" long ago talked about a "bubbling crude."

I'm still trying to combine trips as much as possible to save on gasoline. Monday I made three stops in Phenix City - and was left wishing they'd hurry up and open the new downtown branch of Chattahoochee Valley Community College. But then again, the main road out of CVCC has the closest thing in this area to a downhill roller coaster.

Now let's slip out of neutral, and drive on to some other Monday topics:

+ Students at area Catholic schools had lessons about the late Pope John Paul II. Students at public schools probably can't be taught about overtly religious leaders such as this - but let's face it, there was NO worldwide mourning when we learned Madolyn Murray O'Hair was dead.

+ The House of Mercy received a $20,000 check from the Black History Month breakfast. Why did it take six weeks after the breakfast to turn over this money? Did local civil rights groups take cuts from the interest at the bank?

(House of Mercy leaders say they'll use the $20,000 to buy things such as a new industrial clothes dryer and water coolers. I thought Congressman Barack Obama came to Columbus to help needy people, not make bedding 50-percent brighter.)

+ Bill Madison of the Columbus NAACP said he announced a civil rights boycott of Riverfest last week because it's the "next big event" in town. If I worked at Port Columbus and just finished putting on that Civil War reenactment, I might consider that a slap.

+ WXTX marked the first anniversary of "Fox 54 News at Ten." But I was a little disappointed - because I'm so used to this newscast being "one hour earlier," I thought they'd move it up to 9:00 p.m. for the next year.

+ Auburn University Professor Dr. Joseph Molnar suggested in the Birmingham News all of Alabama should switch to Eastern Time. That'll teach all of you who consider Phenix City backwards and behind the times....

(Dr. Joseph Molnar explains to have "economic integration" with Georgia and Tennessee, Alabama should have "time synchronization." Then let's go all the way with this - and have the legislature give everyone an atomic clock.)

+ A national survey of airline passengers found Atlantic Southeast ranked worst for customer satisfaction. ASA is the only airline serving Columbus Airport - so if you see grim faces there, perhaps it's because all the shuttle buses to Atlanta are full.

+ New rankings from "Baseball America" magazine made Russell County the number-one high school team in the country. The Warriors had better be careful, or Probate Judge Al Howard might investigate their report cards and try to kick everyone off the team.

+ Instant Message to Roy Williams: OK, I confess - you proved me wrong. You left my alma mater Kansas, and won a national basketball title coaching North Carolina Monday night. But at least you weren't given the opportunity to curse in Bonnie Bernstein's face again, like you did two years ago.

COMING WEDNESDAY: Taking a little time to enjoy "The Bue...."

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