In the late 1970’s during the Carter administration, while Steve Garvey, Dusty Baker and the rest of the LA Dodger squad were battling Reggie Jackson and the Oakland A's for the Pennant, a 55 MPH Speed Limit law was passed, NATIONWIDE, to limit speeding on American Highways. CHiPs star Erik Estrada coined the phrase, “55 and Stay Alive!” When in actuality, public safety had little to do with the new Speed Limits.
The issue was fuel consumption. Those old enough to remember may recall long lines at gas stations and fuel rationing, as the 70’s came to a close. It made a lot of sense. Carter backed legislation limiting speed, for the sole purpose of REDUCING WASTEFUL HABITS. By the mid-seventies, since forever, American cars were mainly V-8 gas guzzling muscle cars; and gasoline had been priced way under a dollar a gallon as well, making Americans, by far, the biggest consumers of fossil fuel on the planet. Forcing Americans to drive slower was simply a way to reduce our consumption of gasoline.
In addition, Jimmy Carter also put solor panels on the White House roof to promote the use of solar power. In 1980, the first thing Ronald Reagan did as President was remove the solar panels. Then Reagan broke up unions and began the trend of closing American factories and manufacturing, and laying off millions of American workers. Then Regan began funding wars in Central America and Afganistan and Iraq. The speed limits remained cuz of all the new revenue in TICKETING.
For me, personally, coming off of a decade of driving exclusively 125 motorcycles in Asia, driving a 1999 SRS Cadillac for the last 2 months has made it very easy for me to easily and unnecessarily drive speedily. It’s only been 2 months since we upgraded our 85 El Dorado, which died, with our NEWER 1999 SRS model; and with my AEROSTAR V-8 engine, cruising 85/90 MHP on highways or 55/60 MPH on city streets at night was no problem...
Till I got a speeding ticket.
I plan to fight the ticket and will document my court appearance and defense later.
For now, let’s just say, getting a speeding ticket was a wake up call. Everything happens for a reason. I had been driving at excessive speeds, not unsafe, but still 'against the law'. HOWEVER, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT Since my citation 10 days ago, I have not exceeded 75 mph on the highway or 45 mph on city streets. The result: I GET 50-60 MORE MILES PER TANKFUL.
Considering the price of gas is 3 dollars a gallon, that’s nearly 10 bucks a week, if I consume one tank a week, which I do.
I have no steady income these days -- book sales are intermittant -- so I need to be conservative with my cash. I have no cell phone at this time, no bank accounts, no debit or credit cards, NOTHING IN MY NAME; and I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. With no money, there's no money to buy alcohol or cigarettes, so I'm living healthier. I don't particularly like RESTAURANT FOOD. I prefer to eat at home, or my brother's, or at Chepe's or St. Tommy's house.
I wanna thank my good friend, and Bravofold alumna, YD, for teaching me how not to be wasteful, and how to live within limited means. That's YD up there sitting next to Homer Simpson in the small pic.
I’ve got 400 + books for sale and NOW I’M A MUSIC TEACHER.
“OOO, I’m driving my life away,” sang Eddie Rabbit, once upon a time.
My guitar since 1983. My bass since 2003
Today I started posting Ads: Music Teacher for Hire. In addition to slowly and deliberately promoting my book, I am now a teacher of GUITAR and BASS and MUSIC THEORY. I have 2 basses: one acoustic and one electric; several acoustic guitars, one electric guitar and amp, and a piano.
MUSIC IS A NATURAL SCIENCE! That is the name of my class. So I got that going for me. In my current band, I play only drums. Still, I’m much more knowledgeable about guitar and bass, than I am about drums.
Piece out
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