I was driving home to Igo Monday when I did a double take at the south-west corner of Placer and Pleasant streets. 

There was nothing pleasant about the prices posted high in the air above the Placer Street Chevron station: $4.09 per gallon for regular gas, $4.79 for diesel. 

Even so, cars and trucks were parked near the pumps. Dennis Davis of Redding stood by his white Chevy Silverado and watched the numbers climb. 

“It’s awful expensive to fill this up,” he said. “When it’s empty, it costs almost $100. ”

Davis said he’s grateful he and his wife no longer commute to work, as they once did when they lived in the Bay Area. Even so, with gas prices rising, they try to incorporate a one-stop-shopping strategy to their outings.

 ”I am afraid of how much higher gas prices will go,” Davis said. “And just think: We haven’t even hit the heavy traffic season.”

Amen, brother.

Nearby, Steve Doll winced a little as he filled his truck with the $4.79-per-gallon diesel fuel. He explained that he lives in west Redding, and this particular Chevron station was his last gas-stop option on Placer. 

Doll said he saves money on gas by riding his motorcycle when he can, but that’s not an option when he’s taking his kids to and from school.

“Gas was 50 cents a gallon when I pumped it in the ’70s,” he said with a laugh. ”People complained about prices then, too. It’s one of those things.”

Inside Placer Street Chevron, I had a long conversation with the station’s owner, a soft-spoken man who would not give his name. He said he’d owned the station for about three and a half years.

He said some customers become so angry at the gas prices that they slam hard against the doors as they leave. He remembered how one man, who pulled up to the pumps but only washed his windows, yelled at the Chevron owner and accused him of having the most expensive gas in town.

“Everybody complains to the gas station owner,” he said.

“But it’s not fair because if they want to complain to someone, they should go to the big boss, the company who has the contract with us. They’re the ones who set the prices every day, not the retailer. But I don’t want to argue with the people.”

He jotted down numbers on a piece of paper as he explained that he faces each morning with new prices ordered by the company; to that he adds sales tax, and then he adds enough to cover the 3-percent credit card fees, and then there’s the underground-tank fees.

Monday, he said those calculations took him to about $4.01 to $4.02 per gallon for regular gas, which he then sold to his customers for $4.09 per gallon.

He said that lately, it’s common for him to earn only seven to 10 cents a gallon profit.

“To the gas station business owners, it’s almost like we make no money on gas,” he said.

 ”My main money comes when people buy soda and chips. It’s hard to survive now.” 

To see where your favorite station ranks in its gas prices, go to Motortrend.com to check not just Redding’s current gas prices, but gas prices in any U.S. city.

Meanwhile, to most Americans, it’s nearly incomprehensible to fork over $4.09 a gallon for regular gas or $4.79 a gallon for diesel, and rising.

But the truth is, relatively speaking, $4.09 per gallon is cheap when we compare our gasoline prices to those throughout much of Europe where fuel costs almost $9 per gallon.

Of course, it helps that Europeans don’t live and commute in our geographical sprawl. They ride bikes and buses. They walk to stores and shops near their homes. And they rely upon an enviable, reliable rail system. 

No such thing on our car-loving American landscape any time soon. In fact, when it comes to American public transportation, and concepts like ample bike lanes and high-speed, cross-country trains, we’re pretty much running on empty. 

Fill ‘er up.

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