25 SEP 05: LOOK FAMILIAR?

All it took was 4.293 gallons. That filled my gas tank to the absolute top Friday morning, when the posted price was $2.60 a gallon. Then came the afternoon, when prices jumped 20 cents in most of Columbus - and I felt for once like an absolute genius.

The situation Friday morning was quite a case of deja vu. The price of gas in Columbus was lower than it had been in weeks. A hurricane was approaching the Gulf Coast. Newscasts warned of refineries in the storm's path. It was Katrina all over again -- so this time I was better prepared, much like FEMA.

By filling my tank Friday, I not only missed price hikes related to Hurricane Rita. I won't have to buy gas in a few days, when the REAL rush will come. When Georgia brings back fuel taxes next Saturday, many pumps may have no fuel TO tax.

It was the 3:00 p.m. hour Friday when many Columbus gas stations hiked their prices by 20 cents a gallon. Now THAT'S the way to make all those visiting Harley-Davidson motorcycle riders feel welcome! I'm surprised they didn't drive rings around some high-priced stations, to shut them down.

(To all the visiting Harley riders: please don't think the gas stations are picking on you. They like to hike prices when the S.O.A. Watch protesters show up in November, too.)

A short gas price war developed in downtown Columbus Saturday afternoon. Spectrum stores on Veterans Parkway were at $2.82 a gallon, while the Summit at 15^th Street was at $2.69. Do you think the Summit manager was on the phone, calling the Georgia price gouging line?

When I drove back downtown late Saturday afternoon, all the stations in the neighborhood of 15^th and Veterans Parkway were down to $2.69. That'll teach those greedy Spectrums! And we thank the Summit owners for being close friends of Venezuela's President.

Georgia's Governor showed his concern about gas prices jumping from Hurricane Rita. Sonny Perdue asked all public schools to close for two days, to save on fuel. Trouble is, almost all other businesses are staying open - so won't parents spend more on fuel, driving children to other locations?

I'd already heard from one upset middle school parent, about Muscogee County suspending field trips and activities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Her child's practice for volleyball matches was going to waste, he complained. But look at it optimistically - Kerri Walsh and Misty May have to retire sooner or later.

Governor Sonny Perdue responded to Hurricane Katrina by waiving fuel taxes for a month, and he looked like a populist. Now he wants public schools to close for two days - and except for stay-at-home moms, the governor may look to parents like a human panic button.

Many public schools in Columbus and west Georgia will close Monday and Tuesday, in response to the Governor's request. But Brookstone School plans to stay open - since families with students enrolled there have so much money that they don't have to worry about gas prices.

Four Muscogee County public libraries are offering to help parents Monday and Tuesday. They'll open an hour early, and take in children for a day of activities. The main library's café will be busy today stocking up on slices of cake and brownies.

It's curious that public libraries are offering to intervene like this -- since several branches have signs telling parents libraries are NOT for drop-off babysitting. Has attendance by children dropped that much? Or will the branches simply set up TV sets to show Nickelodeon all day?

As it happened, the main Columbus Public Library was evacuated Saturday afternoon due to a bomb threat. Police told WRBL the caller sounded "like a child." So maybe it was a youthful prank - and not Albert Paley disguising his voice.

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION wants to know if you think Governor Sonny Perdue made the right call, by asking public schools to close for two days. Was he wise, considering where Hurricane Rita landed? Did he panic? And should parents receive reimbursement, for suddenly turning into "bus drivers?"

BLOG UPDATE: The new TransWestern Publishing phone book landed on my porch Saturday evening - and you can guess which name I looked up first. You may be saddened to learn "Joe Blow" is NOT in the white pages this year. So I guess this means he decided to "Blow town."

Now for other items from a busy first weekend of autumn:

+ The Columbus Urban League sponsored a "Do the Right Thing" celebration for young people at Cascade Hills Church. If any mostly-white church turned down this event, of course, it would have been doing the WRONG thing.

+ WRBL reporter Susannah Avery revealed she's the daughter of Patsy Avery, of "Miss Patsy's Playhouse" fame. I'm not sure she should have let this secret out. Now politicians will try to lead her like a puppet on a string.

+ The all-female country music group "Cowboy Crush" performed at the Phenix City Amphitheater. I'm wondering why the football teams at Dallas or Oklahoma State didn't take this name first....

+ The Muscogee County Humane Society sponsored a benefit pro wrestling night at the Bradley Theatre. Yet fans had to be a bit disappointed, when no wrestling bear came out.

+ Virginia Tech trampled Georgia Tech in college football 51-7. This was supposed to be a "barn-burner" - but for these "Tech" schools, it wasn't even a Bunsen burner.

+ Instant Message to Burger King on Buena Vista Road: Do you know you have a staff member who likes to hide his left arm under his shirt, as he takes orders? Did he get a job there under the Americans with Disabilities Act?

COMING SOON: Why a man on the Riverwalk told me: "You're a crazy man. You're insane".... and you can decide whether or not he's right....

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