Possumblog

Another inevitability?

I'm not sure.

But after we got home last night, we went over the plans for today for transporting everyone hither and yon. Reba had an early morning meeting, and then one after work, and I have a building committee meeting at church tonight, so we were going to take two cars today so we can both get where we need to be. "Have I got any gas in the Focus?"

Now, as you all know, one of my primary tasks as pater familias is to make sure that the various volatile organic compounds required for the fueling and lubricating of the internal combustion engines in our possession are at their proper and recommended levels to ensure flawless operation of said machinery, thus negating the need for anyone else to actually check their own dipsticks or gas gauges. A secondary task is to drop everything and run to the gas station in the dead of night if any of the fluids are about to dwindle to nothingness, required by the need to 1) perform my masculine duty of smelling like gasoline, and 2) give me about ten minutes of quiet contemplative time.

"Uhh, well, seems like the last time I looked, it had about a half a tank."

But I looked again. Hmm. Below a quarter. Well, now that I thought about it, when I took Oldest on her coupon book expedition the other night, it did have about a quarter of a tank then. But I sure thought it had more. Anyway.

I walked into the kitchen and told Miss Reba it had less than a quarter and I'd run go get some, and at the same time told Boy to go finish his homework and Catherine to go bathe. Nor really multitasking so much as multi-order-barking.

Off to the Racetrac (We Remove the K and Pass the Savings On to YOU!) for the inevitable hit to the wallet. 9.9 gallons. $29.50. Ouch.

Got in, cranked it, noted the mileage on the odometer and pressed the reset bu--WAIT a minute!

197.7 miles? And I just put in 10 gallons? Why--WHOA UP, HERE!? That's 19.7 miles per gallon! This is why I always check the odometer--I don't always figure the exact MPG, but I know that for the past two years, the little pup has managed to consistently get 26 to 28.

I detect something amiss, I do.

It was 8:45. Just enough time to swing by the auto parts store at the foot of the hill and purchase a locking gas cap.

Yep. Unless something has gone dramatically, horrendously wrong, a car won't suffer a 33% drop in fuel efficiency over the course of two weeks. About the only explanation is that gas got a LOT cheaper for someone who noticed that the Focus's gas cap was unprotected.

I did the math after I got back and figured that at the usual rate of consumption, I should have only had to buy about 7.6 gallons. Subtract that from what I bought, and it comes out to about 2.3 gallons. You know, almost the exact capacity of one of those small red plastic gasoline jugs.

Well, they got 7 bucks worth of free gas, but not again. What makes it most galling is that I have made a point of putting a locking gas cap on every car I've ever had. Except this one.

Oh well.

Posted by Terry Oglesby at September 8, 2005 11:31 AM