Let's hope Bush and his Arab friends don't get hernias from hauling
all that money to their offshore banks.

TMT


The Most Expensive Gas in America?
High-Priced Gas in the Middle of Nowhere
By JOHN BERMAN and KARSON YIU
March 26, 2008--


Five dollars and 20 cents for a gallon of gas. The number says a lot.

Yes, it may be the most expensive gas in America. But $5.20 doesn't
begin to explain essence  the rich, off-beat, some might say,
eccentric, essence of Gorda, Calif.

Tucked away along the California coastline, three hours from anywhere,
Gorda is the kind of town a car can speed through in mere seconds.

But for those who pull in, there is only one restaurant, one store,
one incredible view, and one pricey gas station.

"I've only been here a year but this is the place I want to be and
this is the place where I want to go to heaven," Gorda resident Julie
Hogan said.

James Willman runs the full-service gas station with Brian Boyer and
Nick Osborne, who goes by "Nick-at-Night," because he works at night.


From Gorda to 'Gouge-Ya'
They surprise an awful lot of people who drive by looking to fill up
their tanks without breaking their wallets. But the gas station is the
cash cow of Gorda, and some people have suggested the town's name be
changed to "Gouge-ya."

But the price is just a matter of supply and demand. Since the station
is in the middle of nowhere, it is awfully hard to supply. And because
they are in the middle of nowhere, the demand can be big  drivers
passing through won't hit another station for hours.

"You know, it's a little expensive," one passerby said. "We put $20 in
and hope. Keep our fingers crossed and hope that we get to another gas
station that is slightly more reasonable  maybe only $4 a gallon."

Willman and his gas station gang are among the dozen residents who all
work or live in Gorda.

"It's like a home. It's like living in a giant wall-less house. That's
my front yard," he said, pointing toward the Pacific Ocean. "I cook
outside. I like barbecuing. It's almost like being on a pirate ship.
Everybody is running around going 'argh' ... you know. We're right
there on the ocean ... so, basically, it's a town of bachelors,
really."

That might have been pretty smart if you knew that raising the gas
price would attract so much attention.


'You Gotta Buy it Anyway, Right?'
"Yeah, I want attention, yo. Yeah it's pretty cool. I might raise it
to six bucks next week if I feel like it, I dunno," he said. "You
gotta buy it anyway, right?"

The town has no electricity from the outside. They run their power off
a diesel generator. So, when the gas prices around the country go up,
Gorda needs to hike them even higher, including the day we visited.

"We're raising the price right now," he said. "It's going to be $5.39
a gallon for regular, $5.50 for mid-grade and $5.60 for premium."

And their first customers are a mom and daughter from Idaho.

"It's official. It's $5.60 a gallon," Willman said.

"Oh God," the Idaho mother said.

"Right when we pull up," her daughter added.


Some Baffled, Others Unfazed
If Americans find the cost baffling, it's interesting to note that the
station does have some customers who seem unfazed. Two customers from
London note that the gas in Gorda is cheap in comparison to what it
costs in England.

The gas station in Gorda locks the pumps promptly at 10 p.m., and
closes for the night. How closed? The next morning, when Willman wakes
up, two cars have already pulled in to the station. He refuses to open
early for them.

"They're there day or night," Willman said. "We open in a hour. They
gotta wait till then. Yeah, nothing to worry about. I'm just a grumpy
guy."

Eventually, Willman relented.

"Been here long time?" he asked them. "I'll take care of you."

At the price he is charging, "taking care" is a relative term.

Just the beginning of another day at the country's most expensive gas
station.