Waiting for a knuckle sandwich

I've been anticipating a sucker punch in the kisser ever since gas stroked above $3 a gallon here in what was normally considered, "Oklahoma - land of the sub-$3-a-gallon gas prices."

The right-left combination that I've been expecting (to be delivered by the fella next to me in his Chevy Avalanche/Ford Expedition/H3/et. al) would be to wipe the smug look off my face as I zipped into a Conoco, filled up my Civic for about $27, and zipped out again, waving buh-bye and muttering, "see you in a few weeks or so..." as I drove off.

Quite often I've felt somewhat emasculated and out-of-the-loop - vehicle wise - while puttering around my small town in my 2-door import (made in Canada, btw).

It's almost as if people stare at me and wonder why...1) I'm not driving a Pickup (you are a man, aren't ya?) or 2) Since I'm driving such a small car, why am I not driving a Neon (Dodge), Grand Am (Pontiac), Cavalier (Chevy), or Escort (Ford).

I'm not saying that in my small town of 4380 people, the two ricers in our garage are the only out-of-towner's in town. My rough guestimates would put the ratio to about 10-15% import (European and Asian both), the remaining 85-90% made of Detroit guts and a mixture of American/Canadian/Mexican labor. Heck, even my Wife's Toyota was made in Mexico.

So pardon me if I let creep a little smugness when I fill my tank and get on my merry way at 30-32 miles per gallon. Sure, it may not be the most patriotic approach to the issue at hand, but as a compromise, I propose the following.

If you, in your gas guzzler feel the need to take a swing at me to vent some of your Exxonized frustration, I'll take one on the chin for the good of my country and the cause of keeping one less road rage incident off the road...

But don't go screaming to the authorities when I jump into my El Camino, fire all of her hi-po 8-cylinders up and hunt you down Mad Max style...getting 10-12 miles per gallon while I do it.