Nothing ignites seniors like soaring fuel prices

From gasoline to natural gas, retirees doing best to cope

…Regardless of their financial condition, little upsets them more than big fuel prices. They talk about it endlessly. When gasoline prices were at their peak, they convened over cups of senior coffee to share where they’d found the cheapest prices.

Lately, the buzz has been about natural gas prices. When the bills arrived in early January, anger went up and thermostats went down. One Newton man, with his $600-plus bill in front of him, called the natural gas office to share his opinion about natural gas, the company, and the person who answered the phone.

He concluded by threatening to turn on the electric heating system he’d turned off when he’d switched to natural gas.

Instead of hellos and how-are-yous, neighbors began greeting each other with, “How much was your gas bill this month?” Smoke started rising from chimneys as neighbors began using woodstoves and fireplaces for the first time in years. Electric space heaters were turned on, and kerosene heaters were dusted off and filled with fuel.

Charlotte Observer