The year was 1971. After 24 years in the military my Dad had finally figured out what he wanted to be when he grew up. He loaded up all his Navy retirement money and bought a service station. Conveniently located on IH 35 E – R.L. Thornton Freeway in Dallas, just up the hill from the Dallas Zoo. It was right about that time that I remember ~30 cent gasoline. It was a Gulf station with three different grades of fuel. No-Nox was premium or ethyl. Good Gulf was regular. And there was a brand new grade that had just been introduced, Gulftane – Low Lead. It seems that folks were figuring out that perhaps lead wasn’t healthy for humans or the environment. We didn’t sell any of it but we had it.

Anyway, all that was to tell this story about buying cheap gas the other night. Local grocer Tom Thumb – A Safeway Company, has a fuel promotion. For every $100 worth of groceries you buy you get 10 cents off per gallon at their fueling stations. They’ve done this for awhile, but their new promotion allows you to save them up and use them all at the same time. So we did. Eleven of them. A dollar ten cents off. So it was with great pleasure I filled up Esposa’s MegaSUV for a mere nine dollars the other night. To amplify the savings, we had an outbreak of global warming and it was around 27 degrees Farenheit with a 25 mph north wind so if the experts are right and you get more for your money when it’s cold, it was a double Yahtzee.

Now. Back to reality. That means we spent $1100 on groceries between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Let me consult the Semitough Magic 8 Ball for an appropriate reaction: