Gas prices continue to cause slow burn
Maybe when it comes to Brentwood’s gas prices, a little perspective might help. The average price for a gallon of gas nationally Sunday was $3.71. So that's the good news.

The bad is that there’s no need to average the cost here since it seems every station within a half mile radius of the Franklin Road and Old Hickory Boulevard intersections always charges the same thing. On Sunday, that price was $3.65.

I know this isn’t breaking news to anyone who lives here, or who routinely makes the trek to Costco to pay about 15 cents less per gallon. I know people who now buy everything they possibly can at Kroger in order to take advantage of its partnership with Shell, which offers a discount IF enough Kroger points have been earned. I never seem to reach that point.

Nope, this is about a road trip I took this weekend to South Carolina. Since I was (as always) running late to hit the road Saturday afternoon, I pulled into one of our fine stations and filled up at $3.67. That tank got me all the way to Greenville.
Almost exactly 24 hours later, I pulled into a Greenville station and filled up the tank at $3.35 a gallon. If I had paid with cash, it would have been $3.08. I saw a few $3.36 and $3.37 a gallon stations too.

That tank got me home, but I couldn’t help but notice gas prices on billboards across S.C., North Carolina and Tennessee. They were all lower than here at home.

Unfortunately now I have to fill up again. Costco here I come.

Did you see the story on scooters in the big paper on Sunday? I think that’s the answer for me. It makes perfect sense, since almost everything I do is within a two-mile radius of the former home office. Or maybe I’ll get one of those cut new Nissan Leafs. Or I guess I could … walk.

Let’s not go there. At least not until October.

More new columns on the way
Have you been reading our new columns? Today be sure to check out Bob McKinney's What I Know column on the front page and Arnelle Adcock's Business Matters in Business. Did you know you can take home an opened bottle of wine you’ve purchased in a restaurant? I didn’t realize that until Friday’s Saucy Sister’s Lift Your Spirits column in Food & Drink. And Jodi Rall is hitting her stride “In the Bubble” in Lifestyle.

Later this week we’ll introduce two more columnists to the mix. We’re pretty sure you’re going to be as excited about them as we are. Stay tuned for details.

Susan Leathers is editor of Brentwood Home Page. Click here to read previous columns. Email her at susan@brentwoodhomepage.com