Why Are Gas Prices So High?
by
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Prologue: The present time: Seeing Mom off
“I think I’ll buy the books myself,” Claire Atwater called out to the others.
Peter was the first to respond. “Are you sure?” he yelled.
The children ignored the exchange. They were used to their parents changing their minds, and shouting out last minute instructions or itinerary changes or news flashes as they were leaving the house. They had their own agendas: wolfing down some cereal while catching a bit of television over their hurried breakfasts.
When had the Atwater family never been in a hurry? This seemed like simply the way it was, throwing a sweater on as you ran down the stairs, gulping down orange juice, watching television while propping the phone to an ear to check on the bus schedule. Bumping into parents or sisters or cats in the kitchen. Snatching a quick look at the paper to check on the world. “How was your sleep?” “Fine.”
And yet, how ironic!
“How very ironic,” thought Jane to herself. Eighteen years old, she had reached an age where she could observe situations such as this and develop a reasoned, critical view. This family, of all the families in the world, she realized, should not be rushed. What a scandal it would cause, if the rag mags caught wind of the turmoil in the household routine†of this very family!
Jane was proud of her mother. And her father. And even Mary, her sister, two years younger.
But mostly she was proud of her mother. Wow! How many teenaged girls have a mother who changed the world?
Yes, of course her mother would buy the books. And she would do this and that and the other thing. All before ten o’clock!
Where was there a bookstore open before ten, for goodness†sake? But her mother would find one.
Yes, Claire would buy the books. On her way to give her talk. On her way to or from that service club breakfast. Which one was it this time? Rotary? Lions? Yeah, one of them. And she would drive the speed limit, while doing it all.
After all, wasn’t she the “Speed Limit Lady?”
Jane had originally been embarrassed by her mother’s quick rise to fame three years ago. People flashing “L” to her and snickering. She felt so mortified ... she only wanted to blend in, not to be different, not to stand out.
That was then. But just this past spring, her Grade 12 Social Studies class had done a study of the movement that her mother had started. Cool! And she had done a special project that was based on the movement.
The good news was that her parents had been sensible enough to coach Jane and Mary through the maturingprocess while being exposed to the spotlight of the world. The bad news was that it was rough going for a while, with publicity,†threats, and notoriety. But they came through it all, as better individuals and a better family.
“Good luck, Mom,” Jane whispered, as Claire leaned over to kiss her cheek. “And good knowledge, skill, speaking ability ...” she corrected herself.
“And good performance!” piped up Mary, wanting to be included.
Peter beamed with pride, as he kissed Claire good-bye. Which was he more proud of? His wife, for going to give a breakfast talk to a service club? Or their daughters for having internalized his teaching that it’s not luck that’s important, but knowledge, skill, performance, inspiration, hard work, and so on?
“So I don’t need to get the books?” he asked.
“No, I can easily swing by the store,” Claire said. She wanted the books for that evening’s dinner party. She and Peter liked giving out books as gifts for their guests.
Yes, the dust would settle a bit once Claire got away.
Jane called out to her from the front door, “Slow down, Mom. Don’t burst the bubble!”
“Thanks, Honey!” What a delight her family was for her! Claire smiled, glowing inwardly. And glowing outwardly. A calm serenity had enveloped her person. Not forced. Not a sham, masking over her household rushing. But a sincere calmness, letting her smell the roses.
Yes, the world had really changed! And she had started it! Well, not really ... She hadn’t actually started it. She had simply been there when it started. “Come on, now!” she told herself. “How could one person do all that, especially me?”
Was it knowledge, skill, performance, and all the rest, as Peter would say? Or was it totally luck? Yes, for sure, this time she was lucky.
And perhaps a bit inspired. Yes, luck, and inspiration. Lucky to be inspired. And lucky enough to tell Joe and the others. And lucky that it all went Click!
“And here I am,” Claire realized. “Lucky enough to be going off to tell my story to a breakfast meeting of yet another service club! Yet another speech! How many have there been? And panel discussions? And conference presentations?
“How many? Jane will know. She’s keeping a scrapbook.”
Claire rehearsed her speech in her mind. No notes. She loved talking without notes. She loved the thrill of not knowing what she would say, or in what sequence, or using which examples, or for how long. She loved just telling her story. She loved going into a room, forming her first impression of the audience, and then just going with the flow.
Scary, yes! Living on the edge, for sure! And what a profound thrill, when she pulled it off! Again and again.
“Yes, they must like what I have to say!” thought Claire. “I keep getting invited.”
Her hope was that her story would make a profound change in the lives of a few people for each of her audiences or readers, even one or two people.
Yes, telling her story. Spreading the word. That’s what she loved to do.
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About the Book
Why are gas prices so high? Don't you wish you could do something about them? Do they seem beyond your control? Frustrated? Well, this book suggests something tangible that you can do about high gas prices. Slow down and drive at the speed limit! Follow the charming story of one family who tried just that, and see the miraculous result. This book will change your life, and you will change the world. Read it and respond. You'll be glad you did!
The book follows the growth of Claire Atwater and her Nova Scotian family over a three-year period. It starts with a discussion of gas prices, and forcing them lower by slowing down to drive at the speed limit. It evolves to a spiritual plane on which people slow down to simplify their lives and take responsibility for the world. The speed limit movement spreads rapidly throughout the world, with very beneficial results for people and the environment. The originator of the movement, Claire, is awarded the Order of Canada for her innovation.This book will be appealing to thinking adults who care about the environment and about their children's future and their own future, not only in this life, but also in subsequent ones. It will be of special interest to spiritual people who have grown beyond conventional religion and who are open to a broad view of reality.
Humanity is ready for a fundamental transformation to a compassionate form of caring for each other and for the world. For example, see the books Pay It Forward and In Praise of Slowness, and also the "Slow Cities" movement that started in Italy. This book provides a model and inspiration for a grass-roots movement for such a fundamental transformation.
Endorsements for this book:
"What Mr. Bezanson is out to change is nothing less than the human psyche itself. . . . We are launched into an uplifting exploration of how interiorizing change in the psyche first could result in lifestyle changes which can enhance all aspects of our family and social interaction. . . . I've read many self-help and psychological books. None was better than this book at providing such an ongoing uplift. . . . Why Are Gas Prices So High? should be considered as a possible gift for the nay-sayer in your family who doesn't want to entertain anything but the traditional technology."
- Mary-Sue Haliburton, Editor, Pure Energy Systems Network, Sept 13, 2006 (http://peswiki.com/index.php/Review:Why_are_Gas_Prices_So_High )
“The central idea in this book is very, very interesting.. . . It is a brilliant idea to address environmental issues by bringing to life some real-life characters in a novel.”
- Jawad Gilani, Host, "The Correspondent", CHUO Radio, Ottawa, ON (From an interview broadcast April 6, 2006)
“This book is a fictional account of how a lesson in saving gasoline by slowing down your driving speed can lead to other benefits as well. . . . A lesson to slow down and gain more spiritual peace.”
- “Author seeks answers, and gets a lot more”, Nepean This Week, April 28, 2006, page 12.
About the Author
William Bezanson, P.Eng, is an engineer who advises organizations on how to design products and services to be user-centered. He has published a professional book on that subject, Performance Support Solutions: Achieving Business Goals Through Enabling User Performance, Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing, 2002. One of his interests is in leaving the world better than he found it, and his book Why Are Gas Prices So High? is intended to further that interest. He is writing a second novel, on the same subject as his Performance Support book, but conveying the same information in a light-hearted, fictional form. He grew up in Nova Scotia, was educated in Halifax, and now lives with his wife and family in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.