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dmillsphoto

By dmillsphoto
in Nashville Coffee House

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dmillsphoto Town

dmillsphoto

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Update to my post - called a few stations (about 90) and the majority in Davidson county were out. Some had limited quantities of Premium. Every gas station i called between I-65 and Mboro Rd on OHB was out. Drove to Smyrna and found three gas stations with lines on Sam Ridley Pkwy, and 2 on N Lowry that has 6k gallons each for $3.99 I filled up there. No lines.

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jice Burg

jice

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I know this is sortof a crisis for most people... but... I gotta be honest... these gas problems kinda make me laugh a little bit. I dont know why. I guess I just find it ironic... how reliant this city is on gas stations... and seeing people lined up for 30 minutes or more to fill up a tank.

Anywayz... I guess, if nothing else, maybe this will get people (those who wouldnt normally) to realize the benefits of things like... mass transit :)

As for finding gas.. I had no idea there was yet another shortage until I was stuck in traffic on West End for like 15 minutes.. and then again on White Bridge Road. There was such a huge line that people were completely blocking traffic.. on two of our main highways!

I heard that Bellevue is pretty much out, except for Kroger Fuel... and White Bridge Road only had gas at the Shell station. I think I saw a premium grade on Charlotte too.

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it's just dave Burg

it's just dave

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This has certainly been a week of discovery for many. It'll be interesting to see if the current events have any effect on the varying mindsets which provide what we've discovered are the very weak foundations on which we rest.

The financial markets this week have been a rollercoaster ride through the unknown. Blame cannot be cast upon one political party or the other and I hope that the severe blows will create new strategies and new methods of accounting for our country's wealth and potentially our personal well-being. I can do nothing about the current situation and can only hope that the working and producing results under extreme pressure and deadlines will result in new and effective policies to assure our futures are intact.

The entire country should be focusing on Nashville's current fuel situation right now. As a microcosm of current society, people nationwide should see first hand just how out of control a city can get in a matter of days following a disruption of flow of what is a resource we've come to rely on more than just about any other. Extrapolate the problem into broader regions such as the entire south, midwest or any quandrant of the country and it's easy to see what could turn civil society into a raging mess of survivalists. It isn't a pretty picture.

As I was driving down Gallatin Road yesterday afternoon through miles of traffic, I discovered the reason for the back up was the fact that one station had fuel. Cars were backed up for nearly a mile in each direction. My tank was on Full, so I was an observer only, but could see the desperation in some of these drivers. In their cars, they were pushing, screaming, slamming the steering wheel, trying to change lanes in heavy traffic, cars stalling on the roadside. Where did many of these people really need to go, anyway? Did they not get ample notice that this could happen? Hurricane Ike was a week ago and predictions of a possible interruption in fuel availability were well presented. I went ahead and filled my car and then tucked it securely in the garage. I filled the truck which I use for my carpooling to work and back. And a little for the mower. Maybe I contributed to the overall shortage by filling both my vehicles, but it's something I would have done anyway. I just made sure I did it then instead of trying to do it now. I stayed home all last weekend, drove much more slowly this past week, carpooled to work, consolidate trips for errands and bought a little more gas on Thursday. I'm staying home this weekend, but still sitting here with two conveyances full of fuel. Good for me, I guess.

Hopefully, the country will realize how fragile we are. How easily we can be paralyzed. The time for talking about measures to stem such nonsense has passed and the time to prepare has come. People can complain about the nonsensical reasoning they've developed for themselves about the Star being too expensive, the convenience of having their own car at work in case they need to stop for eggs on the way home and the quiet cabin in which they can conduct their personal lives through much overrated cell phone conversations. People should do little things every day to help fix this problem. I'm personally tired of the Democrats blaming the Republicans and the Republicans blaming the Democrats for every little problem we face. WE are the problem and only WE, through our own collective efforts, can begin the work necessary, in our own personal ways, to begin a path to modifying our behaviors to better accommodate dwindling resources. Entire lifestyles don't need to change, but little things when taken in the context of the collective whole, will make huge strides. Think about your change jar. Little drops of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarter over the course of a few weeks give you wads of cash after a short time. Life is like that. People, in their constant quest for instant satisfaction, tend to forget certain tenets of living that have been presented over time: "A penny saved is a penny earned" "Early bird gets the worm," "He who hesitates is lost," "Live within your means" "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (fat chance of that nowadays). Seems some of those old sayings make perfect sense for living in modern society. If people would put down their phones, get away from their televisions and game consoles, stay home more and just re-learn how to live within reasonable means we'd get all be better off. The nation has become full of selfish, very ego-centric people and now we see, even on this minor scale, the cost of such thinking. And just how fast it can all come tumbling down. Learn, America, learn.

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satalac Burg

satalac

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very well said dave. i witnessed the debacle on gallatin road as well. i just kept thinking about the pictures i had seen of the gas shortages in the 70s (child of the 80s, sorry). i do find it strange that it happened only in nashville. local, state and federal governments should definitely be looking at what the causes of this were. while this was bad, just think if this had been nationwide. while i wondered if i could get from work from e trinity ln to my home in south nashville with what little gas i had in my car, i decided i'd try to eek out the best mileage i could. the usual 20-22 mpg i get fell by the wayside as i was now averaging 28 mpg peaking at a short average of 33 mpg. not bad for a turbocharged awd wagon. i got home around the same time and actually felt a little less tired from the drive. if i had done that all week i probably would have still had half a tank. before this happened, my girlfriend has been talking about trading her volvo xc-90 suv for a new honda fit like my sister just got. going from 20 mpg to 35 mpg is quite a savings. people's attitudes are slowly changing and i hope that this will help push many others over the hump. part of me is glad that this temporary shortage happened in an area known for it's sprawl and automobile reliant culture.

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dmillsphoto Town

dmillsphoto

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What really has had me confused, or perhaps concerned, I have been unable to determine which, is how this crisis came to be. Who was the first source of "Nashville is going to run out of gas" and when did we learn and decide to listen to that guy? Honestly, I am thinking that it may have just been one big ploy to show what happens when a city of Nashville's size runs out of gas, like an example to the rest of the country. Somehow that wouldn't surprise me.

I took video with my camera-phone and uploaded to CNN IReports of the corner of Cane Ridge Rd and Bell Rd last night at around 10pm. Showing three people fighting at the Shell station, and traffic backed onto I-24. I was just at the BP getting a Dr. Pepper. I filled up yesterday (legitimate need, mind you, as I had only put $20 in thinking the high prices/shortage would be quick to resolve) after running on E to get to Smyrna. Few stations down there had no lines and plenty of gas. But it still amazed me to see this bit of history being made. Civilized men, I would assume on a regular basis, fighting over a pump for gas. Yet just 15 minutes away I filled up with no line, only 2 cars at the pumps total.

I agree with Dave, it's time for America to wake up and start learning.

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RON-E Whistle-Stop

RON-E

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all the news stories i heard was that people need to get gas like they normally do.

if they only ever put half a tank in, do that, and it will be just fine, and then everyone freaked out and filled up all their cars so they could sit in the driveway.

one of the main reasons why tennessee, south carolina, and west virginia all went up way up in prices and started running out is because most of the pipelines from the gulf terminate in these states.

all these people heard this, and raised prices because they thought people in the southern most states would use it up before it got to these states, and then it ended uip being these three states that used it up in a frantic race for the pumps.

hopefully, if anything good comes out of this, it will be the realization of how important mass transit is. and will make people realize that their dependence on gas is way to high.

people take things for grantit so long, and then it hits them in the ass.

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jice Burg

jice

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One of the local news stations explained the situation... saying the main pipeline for gas (for us) comes from Houston, up through Atlanta, then Chattanooga, then Nashville. So... i'd imagine there isnt much left once it gets out of Atlanta :)

I think the nation is definitely paying attention to this. My mom (who lives in IL) told me she saw it on CNN yesterday, showing the Exxon station at 12th & Broadway... I also found this on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/19/nashville.gas/index.html

Whether or not anyone will care once this "crisis" is over? Who knows? I certainly hope so. Well put as usual, Dave.

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