Panic! No gas in Nashville! End of the world!

Basically, if none of you know, Nashville is out of gas.  How did this all start?  From a rumor that Nashville will run out of gas.  People were saying it was because of Ike, because of oil companies slowing oil production...  The list goes on.  So, you have these people who have 3/4 tank going to gas stations on Friday morning, with two or three more 5-gallon cans, and filling up as much as possible.  And, if you weren't working, EVERYONE was doing it.  People freaked.  And, because people freaked, they used up the weekend shipment and you can't get gas.  The sad thing is, people who actually need it, can't get it.  So, everyone who has a 1/4 tank and can't get gas anywhere, thank the people who are hoarding it.  

To give you a picture of what the town looks like, EVERY gas station has yellow tape around the gas pumps or plastic bags around the nozzles, and almost no gas station has any prices on their signs.  And, for the 3% of gas stations who do have gas, you can expect a 200-car-deep line that backs up for miles.  All because of a rumor.

As for me?  I didn't find out about all of this until yesterday afternoon at work.  I wasn't able to get off until around 11:00 last night, and I knew that I would be better off looking for gas in the later hours.  So, I went home, hung out for a few hours, and then I get a call from my co-worker who lives about five miles from me and says she found gas.  She was in line, so I told her to call me back if she got anything.  I honestly did not even think of going to where she was, because a) I only had a 1/4 tank and I didn't want to waste it waiting in line for over an hour and b) I was afraid that by the time I got there, they'd be out.  An hour later, she called me saying she got gas.  She told me the line wasn't too long and if I came now, there would be some left.  I hesitated, but after some thought, I put on my flip-flops and headed to an unfamiliar part of town.

I'm talking to my co-worker the whole way to the station, because I have no idea where I am going.  All I keep thinking is, There's going to be a huge line. This is one of the only stations in Nashville that has gas.  It's going to be out.  I'm wasting gas by finding gas.  This sucks.  

I almost miss the gas station my co-worker was talking about because none of the lights were on.  It looked like a scene from an apocalyptic movie.  People were huddled around gas stations with cans at their feet, getting as much gas as possible.  The surprising thing?  No line.  My only conclusion was that they ran out of gas so no one was bothering to wait anymore.  But, I pulled in, and there's this dude who flags me over to a vacant pump.  I park, slide my card, insert nozzle, and there is glorious gas filling up my gas tank.  Now my thoughts move toward Are you kidding me?  

So, I now have a full tank of gas.  And there are thousands and thousands of people who don't.  Shipments will come in, and people with almost-full tanks will probably wait in line and mess it up, again, for everyone.  That's the thing about panic.  That's the thing about consumerism.  We tell ourselves that things aren't right and that we need it at this moment, and without it, things will be completely chaotic.  

I have about a week-and-a-half to see how this all ends up.  To all my Nashvillians, be patient.  Don't drive too much, and if you have enough gas, give somebody a ride.