"Honk, Honk", Hurry up! I have been in line now for three hours! What is taking so long?" Does this excerpt strike you as a common one? Well to almost any licensed driver over forty years old it sure does. I as well as anyone know how vexatious it is to wait in line for gas; however, have you ever waited for three hours? I bet your parents did just this twenty-five years ago. I am speaking about the gas crunch of the mid 1970's.
             My father was one of the millions of people who was affected by this fuel crisis. At the time he was a salesman in Massachusetts. My dad could not execute all of his duties because gas was too expensive for him to purchase. When he could afford it, the lines were so lengthy that he would miss half of the workday just waiting to fill up his tank gas. It was preposterous!
             Innumerable people experienced the same thing as my father. I soon realized this after chatting with my Aunt Linda. She used to travel throughout the country quite regularly; therefore this gas predicament put a damper on her life. Depending on the last digit of your license plate being even or odd affected what days you were allowed to purchase gas. My aunt and her husband went to Maine frequently. They used to switch the license plates on their cars just so they could get gas anytime they wanted. Another person with whom I spoke was my mother's friend, who was unemployed at the time. Her only job was to wait in line to obtain gas for other family members! Just think, people were waiting in line for hours for only about eight gallons of gas.
             The gas crunch of the mid 1970's affected people's lives then, and into the future. Large V-8 engine cars were phased out because they were "gas guzzlers", and smaller compact cars dominated the highways. High-octane gas was hard to come by and therefore V-6 and V-4 engine cars ruled the roads. Travelers learned to give themselves more time to get from point A to point B because highway speed
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