I'm John Batchelor. I'm joined by Jim McTagg, my colleague, former Washington of Barron's Magazine, now a novelist, in Lancaster County.

Lancaster County, the best county in the Keystone State, historic, and also on the front lines of

gasoline prices.

These last days of the Straits of Hormuz being bombarded by underwater drones and other missiles from the Iranian regime have led to a panic for energy prices in Europe.

But how is it in America, given that we are an energy superpower?

Jim, a very good day to you.

I recall when we started this watching of gasoline

after the first week of the war, you had paid $289 a gallon at Costco, where they sell very

inexpensive gasoline to attract customers, your local big box store. You paid $289 on one day, and then you saw the price had gone

to $3.50 the next day. It's a week from then. What is the price now on the tote boards of

local gasoline stations? Good evening to you. Good evening, John. I'd rather go to the dentist

than the gas station. Pump prices at hour hour about 380, and the local geniuses are predicting that it soon will climb to over $4 a gallon.

And in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, it practically have to drive everywhere.

So it's hitting almost every resident in the county

in the pocketbook. Very, very hard hit. So the prediction right now, without any change in the

weather in the Middle East, is $4 a gallon, which is, I don't remember.

Did it get that high during the pandemic?

I just don't remember the panic afterwards.

I just don't recall.

I remember gas being around $4 a gallon, and people were extremely unhappy, but I forget

exactly when that occurred.

It's a point of interest because a lot of flatbed F-150s are sell every year.

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