Captain's Log: September 27, 2008

There's not a drop of fuel from here to downtown.  It was really quite unique to pass dozens of seemingly abandoned gas stations on the commute home today; there weren't even any prices listed.  There still seems to be a significant amount of traffic on the roads, however.. I suppose it hasn't been long enough to cause a major impact other than panic-buying and long lines when there is gas.  Although we were able to find one station with a temporary fix, it frustrated me to see people filling up multiple plastic containers, and of course many people are filling up their half-empty cars just because they're paranoid that we won't have any gas for the next several days.  I don't really know what to make of it all.. Given the economy's state, a lack of civilian mobility could cripple the country to a degree not experienced for decades.  The overabundance of chaos is nauseating: multiple hurricanes, no fuel, a stumbling housing market, a crashing economy, bailout after bailout, etc.  And most of us are so worked up about this election that we're at each other's throats rather than uniting together as we should be.  I also can't help but think that this crisis will sway many voters to think that McCain can just dig up some gas out of the ground and hand it over to them.

On a separate note, we received news today that a good friend of ours has not been heard from for at least two days - no phone calls even to his dad or brother, he's not listed in the state docketbook and we've had friends checking the hospitals.  He didn't show up for work the past two days and was scheduled to go out of town last night on a camping trip, but didn't contact anyone beforehand.  I can only hope everything is alright..