I didn't get to writing about this on Friday when it happened: Friday morning before I left for work, some truckers blocked the northbound 5 with their rigs in protest over high fuel prices. We heard about it on the radio, and turned on local TV to watch it during breakfast. The CHP had the rigs cleared within about half an hour or so, but I'm sure the backup lasted quite a while. Luckily that wasn't on my route.

I'm not against civil disobedience per se, but that seemed out of line to me. Someone might have been trapped in the standstill who was in the midst of an emergency. Also, I don't see how it helps fuel prices to block all us little people's commutes. Fuel prices may not be as directly related to livelihood with us as it is with them, but it's not like we haven't noticed that gas prices are high, and I really don't think there are many commuters around who like them that way. But I sympathize with their predicament, and I hope they can figure out some other more effective remedy with less public-relations-backfire potential.

I also wish that we would all get off of relying on fossil fuels, which I think are going to begin running out within this century anyway, and find something(s) else to use as soon as possible.

Just imagine if we didn't need oil, if we could get fuel from some combination of other things that could be entirely or mostly supplied domestically. Ponder for a moment what a change would be wrought in certain balances of international power and interest, for one. Wouldn't that be interesting.

contents of the purple tricycle are copyright 2004 carrie lynn king unless otherwise noted.