1:54 AM on a Sunday morning and I could not sleep.  My mind was racing so much I thought I would start my first blog. SO, WELCOME to my first Blog! I think I will call it "In My Opinion" because basically people it is.

Before bed I was reading my local newspaper, (BIG MISTAKE!) and read about this whole ETHANOL mess!  What a joke! PLEASE! This professor was talking about ethanol, and how years ago it was plugged as a great thing to ease dependency on foreign oil. Can some one please answer this question for me.  Why do we need all this foreign oil when we produce so much here? Why do we export oil just for us to import oil from another country back in here? Can some one answer that? I know we have lobbyist (which should be BANNED in my opinion!) who fill politicians pockets with money (they will not admit that, though) for them to approve items that is good for not the country, but for that certain COMPANY!  Why can all our national OIL companies make BILLIONS in profit and yet we pay over $3.25 a GALLON? ( That is a SIN I tell you a SIN!) Why can we not push the government into putting  a CAP on the gas prices, it is affecting everyone! But I digress.... oh yeah Ethanol.  In the USA Ethanol is a grain product (corn). I was doing research on how expensive it is to make ethanol. The main reason for the expense is the grain it is using. Also, I read about how ethanol and gas has water in it that over times hurts the engine, makes the gas LESS powerful, and rust pipes in the car. Can WE not come up with another solution, since another country who makes ethanol out of BEETS.  (Honestly who actually eats beets? I know they are good for you and all, blah blah blah), and beets are easier to grow and also easier to turn into ethanol. Using BEETS will not raise the beef prices to STUPID, raise the chicken prices to " You GOT to be KIDDING" and MILK prices to over $4 a GALLON! (I know other parts of the US milk can be found for about 2 dollars a gallon, so you will not be know about that), toilet paper and other paper products are raising so much that sooner or later we will be back in the "olden" days with an old CATALOGUE!  It seems like every time you go the grocery store you see not little jumps in prices, but NOTICABLE ones. I bought a loaf of bread two days ago for..get this..$3.19!  Nothing special white bread, same bread I buy all the time, and WOW over three dollars and it USED To be $2.19 every day, all day for MANY YEARS. (Blame it on the GAS prices I was told, delivery costs etc). Ice CREAM!  I want to scream, I like one brand of ice cream, only one type I will eat, which shall be nameless, but do they not think we NOTICE when it went from a HALF GALLON to 1.75 LITERS? Do they think that we are so stupid with the metric system (and actually we are not that familiar with the metric system even though were SUPPOSE to convert to it in, you ready for this, 1976!) that we would go oh yeah that is a half gallon, and THUS raised the price from $3.99 to $5.49?  PLEASE, we might be lacking in "smarts" compared to other countries, but we ain't THAT STUPID!  Again, I digress....

ETHANOL.  I urge all of you to contact your local government official and ask why are we just making ethanol out of corn? There are other items we can make this substance from, remember the BEET! I am tired of being told the rising prices on every thing is because of corn.  You know, if you allowed people(our GREAT FARMERS, whose numbers are shrinking daily) to grow corn besides giving them a subsidy to NOT GROW CORN, we would not be in this mess! Corn used to be a cheap resource and now it is not. Shoot, corn is in everything now a days (THUS the diabetic rate in this county is going up in droves because of it), since sodas have corn syrup in them, canned beans have high fructose corn syrup in it, you name it, it is IN IT!  Read the labels you will see! You will be shocked where it is found, so before you put it in your buggy, read the label. (And let me know where the wildest place you find High Fructose Corn Syrup). We have put so much emphasis on one item,I shall name it "KING CORN", that we losing badly.  You remember the saying "Do not  put all your eggs in one basket...."? Well LOOK WHAT WE HAVE DONE!

Us Americans are dependant on alot of things, oil from the Middle East and South America (and in both cases I do not feel like we are REALLY LIKED THERE) and yet we buy from them daily. Do you go to a grocery store, or to a restaurant, that you know you are despised? I am sure you do not frequent those places, at ALL!  Why should we? Why can we not keep our OWN oil for our OWN people? Sure, if we have surplus (who are WE KIDDING), we can sell it to other countries. I still have not figured out how the most powerful country (supposedly), can not win this war on OIL. It seems to me that we have had embargos to other countries that we do not like, or agree on their policies. Is this THAT hard to convert our own oil for our own use? (Am I that naive about this?) Sure we might pay the same, but atleat we would have a voice if we felt like the prices got to high with our Senators, Governors, and (gulp) President. It is easier to have a public opinion when it is your own back yard.

I have read articles (in many different papers) over the last couple of weeks, asking people have they changed their driving habits.  I was SHOCKED (at first) that most people said "NO". Most people stated " I do not pay my cable bill, so I can fill up my HUGE SUV" (left the brand nameless). Again that shocked me knowing that poor local cable company is not getting paid because we were brain washed in thinking we needed an SUV that got 8 miles a gallon. No WONDER the cable company (in my area) cuts off cable if it late 10 days.  You get no warning, you get no call, you get no call asking can you please pay your bill. You get disconnected!  No apologies and a $100 re connect fee. (Thank GOD I DO NOT HAVE CABLE!) Why are they still making SUV's that get 8-10 MPG?  I am a Realtor in my area, and I used to have a LARGE SEDAN, but now adays I have a Midsize Honda, and yet it NOW costs $45 to fill up the tank. ( A SIN, I will always SAY!).  What am I to do with clients, put them in a Bicycle or Motorcycle ( or a VESPA) to take them to show a house? (That would be a SIGHT, since I am larger than the "average" man by about 120 pounds!) I lose money when I show property. (An average transaction, I show between 6 (on the LOW SIDE)- to 35(HIGH SIDE) houses before a client makes their mind up.  It is not like they see the first house and go "This is it!", because I can tell you from experience that it is not. What am I suppose to do when I drive 300 miles and my gas light is on and I have to fill up again to take them out the next day? ( I FILL THE TANK, and think BAD THOUGHTS, not about my clients, of course, but the $3.XX9/10 I pay per GALLON!) We need to conserve gas, and every little bit helps.  I was looking at HYBRID cars, but I Am sorry they want too much money for them. (Taking advantage of people wanting to conserve, and they end up doubling the car payment). In other countries, they pay MORE for gas, we all know it.  But also, they have smaller cars (have you seen the cars in ENGLAND? SMALL! or St MAARTEN, I would have to rent TWO cars to cover my....). They are tight areas, where you can actually walk or ride a bike to the store to pick up items. The USA (well Charlotte, NC) you can NOT walk to the store. Only way you do that is IF we have a FREAK snowstorm and you can not drive! We are spread out, so leaving your home to go to the nearest grocery store is probably about 5 miles from you. So now we make lists and keep it in our car. If you are on one side of the city and you know you want an item close to where you are, you stop by and get it, not make a special trip for it. I now shop in one grocery store, not unlike before I shopped three stores to get the best prices on an item. CONSERVING.

In closing I suggest the following :

Contact your local Congressman, Senator, who ever you feel can help you (And if they do not call back or contact you, remember that on ELECTION DAY)

Converve GAS!  Make sure your tires are inflated to the correct pressure, and keep your oil changed at regular intervals.Do not do small trips,multi task when you are out driving. Also, call the companies (dry cleaners, etc) and see if they deliver and how much the fee is.

KEEP your CAR LIGHT! Do not keep your car full of items that are not needed. (I keep my trunk FULL due to my business, but it is now empty, well the spare TIRE is still there, of course!)  The lighter the load the less gas you will use.

Plan outings well in advance.

Drive when TRAFFIC is LIGHT! (I know that is the hard one to do!)

CARPOOL!  VANPOOL!  Take PUBLIC TRANSIT (Quick Note: The Charlotte Transit ridership has increased over 9 % since gas has been high)

I would love reactions about this post. Remember, I am NEW at this, so please be kind!

John Sloan, Broker

Southern Winds Realty  Charlotte, North Carolina