I really can’t tear myself away from the news. With all the destruction and loss of life just a few hundred miles away, it was a surreal feeling to have had a nice day outside here in town. By all accounts, things around here in north Alabama are normal. If it wasn’t for the news, you wouldn’t have known anything was wrong. My day was pretty normal - work at the office, lunch with my sister, visit some clients and then run some errands after work. Somehow, I just appreciated evertyhing just a little bit more today.

Some of my family called in to check on me. My parents sent me an email from the other side of the world checking in as well. I assured everyone that I was okay. Kelsey (my dog) is fine too. She still doesn’t have the sense to go in her doghouse to stay dry but insists on sitting out in the rain getting soaked. Whatever makes her happy I guess.

Oh… here’s something interesting that happened today - as I was heading to Huntsville, I thought I’d fill my car up with gas. I still had 3/4 of a tank but filled it up anyway. I paid $2.49 per gallon at the Texaco near my office. This was at 1:00. By the time I got back in town around 4:30, the price at the SAME STATION was $2.79!?!? Glad I filled up earlier!

Sheesh. I was ALMOST an SUV owner last year around this time. While I wouldn’t mind having a large vehicle, fuel prices just make them too expensive to drive. One of my friends wives drives a Ford Excursion… with a V-10 in it. That’s gotta be painful. My car holds a tad over 17 gallons of fuel. At $2.79 a gallon, that’s $47.43 for a full tank. Holy crap. My friend’s Excursion has a 44 gallon tank… $122.76 for a fill-up.

That’s crazy stuff right there I tell ya.