This morning, I read another one of those forwards about striking against two of the big three oil companies to fight the war on rising gas prices and thought to myself, I should add to the mayhem over our war on terror and rising gas prices, and tell folks that in a recent meeting of some top dogs in the fuel industry, my notes when I took minutes (to myself of course) was to buy a horse.

Most of us Americans want our cake and our frosting together; talk about spoiled. We haven't lived in a time or a country where lack of food, shelter, and/or clothing are the main concerns of everyday life, and for some folks that is in the Southern United States.

We also don't think about the correlation between our investments and our consumption. We are the largest consumer in the world of oil. We have the largest wealth in the world of any nation, and per capita income per household, and yet we squeal like pigs when bacon goes up to $6/lb. and gasoline tops $3 a gallon. Oil futures are rising, as well as natural gas, pork, gold, and other commodities, but how many of us watch the business news and see the stock market finally rallying again, and watch our IRA portfolios increasing, etc, and make a correlation? We can't have it all folks. We can't go to the gas station to fill up our SUV's and less than efficient economy cars, and squeal because we're now up $3 (per) gallon, even though we haven't even hit Memorial Day weekend, when traditionally price goes up another 25-50 cents a gallon for the summer, and expect our IRA's to make money for us.

I know the Sears catalog is looking pretty good to most of us for our TP alternatives, and mac-cheese has gone beyond $3 a box, and those of us that do know how to make things from scratch haven't dusted off that recipe book in order to make our own noodles

So what happens in July when mac-cheese is $4 a box and to add bacon bits is too much to feed a family of four?

At a recent meeting, involving high profile leaders from around the Sound, the talk was about alternatives to energy; clean green fuel. The hybrid makers wanted to increase the production of hybrid vehicles, but that will alter the technology for training technicians to service these vehicles. Our colleges will need to train folks not only in computer technology, but also a degree in auto mechanics; with a degree like that, I don't imagine our young people will be in the service dept. of our local auto dealers for very long. And consider how long all that will take? Most of us baby boomers will be in nursing homes by then, and could care less about high energy, since we'll barely have enough energy to roll out of bed each day from our own physical decline, which won't be relieved too well because of the shortage of nursing staff.....

Americans (myself included) are delusional. We don't connect the dots to our major consumerism (which according the experts is driving this economy) and our warring spirit because we want to feel safe after 9/11....And the irony is now 9/11 pales in comparison to Hurricane Katrina, which supposedly also shot up the price of gasoline, and shot down our faith in the U.S. government. I don't imagine the folks in Iraq have a lot of sympathy for those of us supporting them and their economy now that it has been wrecked, and when we read the reports of corruption, loss of billions of tax dollars, and now the threats Iran is making, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict where gasoline prices and mac-cheese prices will be by July.

Personally, I think more Americans (again myself included) should continue to putz around in our gardens and grow some food like some of our Eastern European neighbors do on a daily basis, join in more carpools, consider fewer trips to the grocery store (because after all if we don't even go into the store, we won't be tempted to buy two boxes of cereal for the price of 1), and most of all save on gas and buy a horse.

Of course, a horse saves on fuel; they eat grass and they live for close to 35 years.

One final note for my friends; my raspberry patch is promising to have a banner year, but I'm sorry I will have to charge for my jam this year because the cost of jars went up, but you gotta love that rate of return on your CD's due to glass futures.

No animals suffered harm (psychologically or otherwise) in the making of this editorial comment. However, if you care to leave a tip or ask my opinion in the future, I gladly accept donations, since I'm currently unemployed.

Anna B Wilde

Fauntleroy