Yesterday afternoon I stopped at a local gas station to fill my tank. The freeway exit near my home has two major gas providers. I was surprised to find that one of was totally out of gas and the other had lines over ten cars deep at the pumps.

I am old enough to remember the gas lines of the 1970's and having to wait with my mother for hours to buy gas for her 1975 Ford LTD (a true "gas-guzzler"). The rules of the day were "odd and even", meaning you could only purchase gasoline based on the last number on your license plate and the day of the week. I do not have fond memories of gas lines.

Fortunately this experience was most likely a one-time phenomenon. Due to Hurricane Rita and nearly 2 million evacuees from Houston (and the other Gulf cities) fanning out across Texas, the usage and distribution of gasoline is temporarily out of whack. While I was frustrated, I realize that many people in my state have had a many more difficulties dealing with the incoming storm. (One friend had a 15-hour drive to get from Houston to Austin, which should normally take less than three hours). Fortunately, Austin is inland and will remain dry.

Yet seeing a station "out of gas" and the long lines did make me wonder if a gas shortage was something that our country would have to face again? In the past 25 years our culture has become much more accustomed to "fast" for everything we consume, ...... hours in line for gas would not be an easy adjustment for our immediate gratification tendencies.

Without getting political, I hope that the leaders in both major political parties will put the finger-pointing and special interests aside and look for real solutions. But they wont, a gas shortage would just be another opportunity for politicians to get soundbites on the evening news..... while the rest of us wait in line.

Thom Singer is the author of "Some Assembly Required: How to Make, Keep and Grow Your Business Relationships" (New Year Publishing, 2005), available at http://www.thomsinger.com