The Cumberland Farms on Route 9 in Hadley, my own personal bellwether
for the price of gasoline, was holding steady today at $3.87 per gallon
when I drove past it this morning on my way into the Cube. At least that's different than a couple of mornings ago; when I drove past that day, it was at $3.77 per gallon there, $3.75 across the road at the Gibbs. When I returned in the afternoon, the Gibbs had leapfrogged up to $3.79, and I wondered how fast the Cumby would match. Now I only wonder if it ever did; it was the next morning that I saw it had taken the 10-cent(!!!!) leap to $3.87.

Still, this is better than you're going to find just down the road a bit in Connecticut, which was one of the first three states (along with Alaska and New York) to breach the $4/gallon average statewide mark. Not even California beat the Nutmeg State to $4, which is a good indication of how extreme Connecticut's prices are, thanks to an extra state tax on gas there. If you've done any driving throughout New England, you're almost certainly aware that Connecticut is generally about 20 cents more per gallon at any given time than you'll find here in Massachusetts. But if your Memorial Day plans include driving, you'll want to be sure to fill up here, not there.

Of course, this is all nothing compared with Europe. If you're headed to Germany, for example, be prepared to pay $8 per gallon. But would that stop me from renting a high-performance sedan and hitting the Autobahn in the slow lane at 120 mph? No way. (Better to do it there than on I-91 in Vermont, where a New Hampshire man got bagged doing 135 mph on Wednesday. In the rain, no less. I wouldn't want to pay that fine....)