Gas price observations

We were returning to Columbus from a trip to Birmingham when we stopped for something to eat in Northport. There is no sit-down dining so I had to go through a drive-thru at a local fast food restaurant. There is nothing like eating greasy French fries and a chicken sandwich (that is trying to slip out of the bun) in the parking lot of a fast food joint. The front seat of an auto was never designed to be a dining table.

After dinner, I pulled up to a self-service pump for gas. The meter on the pump read $1.31 per gallon, which I thought was pretty cheap until I noticed the station across the highway was $1.25 per gallon. I remembered that the gas in Columbus was $1.65 per gallon, so why was there such a large difference in the price? Could the price be due to 1. Difference in state taxes? No way both states are broke; 2. Difference in cost to transport the fuel? Don’t think so since it was $1.34 in Gordo; or 3. Over-charging? Surely not.

I wrestled with this all night trying to come up with a logical conclusion of why there was a 40 cent per gallon difference in the price of gas, and then it came to me like a voice from above: “Mississippi must have better gas than Alabama.” If you are traveling east on U.S. 82, be sure to fill up in Mississippi before you leave. Sure I know it is 25 percent higher in Mississippi, but it’s better gas!

Sherman Meadows

Columbus

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.