I cannot tell you how many times I have shown up at events with a couple of cameras around my neck, a gadget bag full of odds & ends and a lighting kit and have been asked that question. If it happened once every few years, that would be one thing. But it happens a LOT. It's like getting pulled over by the police and he's standing there with uniform, gun, flashing lights and asking him "Are you a cop?" I would love to come back with a witty reply, such as "No, I am Jesus. Don't you recognize my beard?" However, I cannot be that rude.
St. Vasllio's Greek Orthodox Church, Watertown, NY. Particularly scenic snow for mid March here in the North Country.
Yesterday, Wednesday March 15, I bought gas at the Valero station located at Court & Arsenal Streets, Watertown, NY. Price for regular 87 octane was $3.38 a gallon.
Price of gas at Valero, Watertown, NY, Much 15, 2023.
Snow in Watertown, NY at St. Vasilio's Greek Orthodox Church, Franklin St. Quite a scenic amount of snow for mid March here.
Today I checked on a tenant that says his place was broken into. He called police about it. Police think he is faking his story. He said it happened while he was in his bedroom, door closed, wearing earbuds while listening to music. He thinks person or persons entered to get out of the cold and take some drugs. I don't think his claim holds any water.
After that I went to the Sportsman's Barber Shop and got a haircut. Cost: $14.00 plus a $6.00 tip. 20bucks.
Went toTarget and got birthday cards. Went to Kinney's Drugs & picked up iron supplement for the Better Half.
Sam's Club where I picked up avocados, medjool dates.
Got home and made dinner: Roasted chicken thighs, baked potato, and green beans.
I arrived at 3:30, played 4:30 to 6:00. I was followed by musician Sara Ada. Sara is a wonderful singer and ukulele player.
Me during guitar gig at The Arc Jefferson St. Lawrence annual fund raising event, Sunset at the Park.
Earlier in the day I mowed the lawn.
The price of gas has been outrageously high here in Northern NY for quite a few months. Today I fueled up at the Valero pumps at the store in Dexter. Price was $4.09 a gallon. down from $4.39 a gallon a few days ago.
Trash from our Franklin St, Watertown apartment house loaded into my 2011 Kia Sedona van.
Rain during the night and some this morning gave way to mostly sunny skies with a high temperature of 55. I had a rather low key day. Did my usual couple hours of guitar practice, had a ham & cheese sandwich for breakfast which I ate while watching You Bet Your Life with Jay Leno. It's quite entertaining. It's a resurrection of the show that aired many years ago hosted by Groucho Marx.
Then I went to our Franklin ST apartment house and tore up all the carpets in the upper unit. Loaded them into my 2011 Kia Sedona van along with some more trash that tenants left behind in the garage. Dropped in on my Celebrity Brother and gave him a nice folding closet door. That was something I never used and have been storing forever. I'm trying to weed out & organize. I took the trash to the Jefferson County Transfer Station. Fee for that was $23.00 and change.
Bought gas at the Valero Station in Watertown located at Arsenal & Court Streets. $4.07 a gallon. That is 32 cents a gallon cheaper than here in Chaumont.
This evening we started watching Season 5 of Better Call Saul on Netflix.
A Valero gas station attendant changes the price at the pumps as I was filling my tank. Unreal. Gary Walts photo copyright 2022
The price of gasoline has reached new high here in the North Country region of New York State. Just a week ago it was about $3.59 / gallon. Yesterday the cheapest I could find was $3.85 a gallon. That was at the Valero station located at corner of Arsenal & Court Sts., Watertown. Other stations in the area were $4.19 to $4.29 a gallon. My tank was on empty so I figured I better fill up.
As I was filling up, the person working at Valero came out and started changing the price on the pumps. Went from $3.85 to $4.05 a gallon. Wow. And it's the same gas in their tank. It's not like a new shipment came in at a higher price. The only time I saw gas hit $4.00 a gallon was at the end of GW Bush's presidency. It was at a convenient store in Beaver Falls, NY. That price didn't last very long. It seems to me that our country was energy independent just a year or so ago. What the Hell as happened?
I understand Putin's invasion of Ukraine has created a world wide upheaval, but gasoline, natural gas and home heating oil have been steadily rising sine President Biden's inauguration.
This is the most I ave ever paid for a gallon of gas. Unreal. Gary Walts photo copyright 2022
It is April and gas has hit this price in Brownville, NY. About ten miles from my house. Here in Chaumont it is $3.96/gal. This is an outrage. I am convinced this is a scam or ploy being played upon the American people by business & government. I say that because of speculators in the commodity markets and government policies are driving up the price of oil. How would it be if the air lines were shout down following a horrific crash that killed three or four hundred people? That would be ridiculous because accidents happen. The big ones are fairly rare. We are told that the number of crashes & deaths are incredibly small compared to the number of miles flown world wide, year in, year out. Well why did our government halt all US oil drilling for at least the next 7 years after the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico when thye BP drilling rig exploded? Isn't that overkill? Sure it was terrible, but let's get real. World wide there have been billions upon billons of barrels of oil pumped for how many years? In the past 50 years it is a number that would be incomprehensible. There have been a handful of oil spill disasters. The accidents compared to the prodution numbers are miniscule. The United State is the ONLY country in the world that is not drilling for new oil.
For the past 3 years I have been watching the price of oil. It affects me. I cannot stand it. On January 20, 2009, Innaugeration Day, as Obama was sworn into the presidency oil was $45.00 a barrel. The price of gas well under $2.00 a gallon. Today the price of oil slipped back to $106.00 / a barrel. A few days earlier it was $110.00
Don't forget, the price of oil affects much more that the price of gas. How about home heating oil? For most of the 20+ years I have been living in Chaumont the price we paid fro fuel oil has been around $.89 cents to maybe a $1.19 a gallon. We use about a thousand gallons a year. When it went to 1.50 a gallon our heating bill went up by $500.00. Ouch! In 2007 it was well over $2.00 a gallon. Our heating bill was going well over 2 thousand dollars. In 2008 it was climbing up over $3.00 a gallon. I simply could not afford a 3 thousand dollar fuel bill. But I had no choice. However, we installed a wood stove as a supplement, not a primary heat source. With the combination of oil & wood we have managed to keep our heat bill to about $1,500.00 Otherwise it would be well over 3 grand. In Summer of 2009 (Obama's first Summer in office) we paid $1.99 for a gallon of home heating oil. # weeks ago when I bought some it was $4.00 a gallon. The HIGHEST, HIGHEST price EVER. That would be a $4,000 heating bill for the season if that price heald & we didn't have the wood stove. And believe me, we keep the thermostat LOW!. There are millions and millions of people in this country in the same predicament. How can we absorb such an increase? And Obama has tha audacity to say that the people really wouldn't be bothered by the price if it rose up slower. He was talking about gas at the time, but has he & everyone else overlooked the home heating oil crisis? And BTW, natural gas in not available where I live.
The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra has filed for bankrupcy and will be dissolved. This event is happening in their 50th anniversary year. Among the problems they have had was a 23% decline in ticket sales in the past 36 months. Is it any wonder? When one's heating bill rises from $1,500.00 a year to $4,000.00 a year, and one's income stays the same or goes down (as my income did)there's not a lot left for concert tickets.
I lay the first round of high oil prices squarely on George Bush. I blame the current problem squarely on Barak Obama. Obama halted the drilling, no one else.
Obama has said more than once that we NEED higher prices to change peoples behaviors. So he WANTS higher oil prices. How can I change my behavior any more? Move south? Shut the oil furnace off all together? The following video clip is him talking about electricity. He wants that to rise too. What am I supposed to live on? Sawdust and ashes left over from the fire wood?
Here is a video of Barack Obama talking about rising electric rates m
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Gary Walts
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Chaumont, NY 13601
One more thing: The entire contents, all photos & text, are copyright Gary Walts 2010
