Gas — going down. Really?

I came across an unusual sight driving to work recently. I had to do a double-take. Make that a triple-take as I drove past the Hy-Vee Gas station and saw that gas had gone down a few cents. Then the same thing happened a couple days earlier. Now gas is down to something like $3.89. Holy cow! Three. Eighty. Nine. What’s next? $3.80? $3.50? Do I hear $3? We here in rural Minnesota were creeping toward that ugly national average of $4, and I bet everyone assumed we’d hit it before too long. But now, the trend has reversed, at least for the time being, and the air seems cleaner, people are friendlier, the flowers smell nicer and the birds are chirping louder. And this phenomenon is happening all over the place. A national survey released Sunday shows that gas prices around the country — on average — have dipped below the $4 mark. The average price of regular gasoline at self-serve stations was $3.996 a gallon Friday. Mid-grade was $4.13 a gallon and premium went for $4.24, according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations nationwide. Prices are at their lowest level since May 16 and are an average of 11.7 cents less per gallon than two weeks ago. Still, the survey showed the average U.S. price for gas is $1.11 higher than it was a year ago. The cheapest gas was in Wichita, Kan., where the price for regular was $3.61 a gallon. Anchorage ranked the nation’s highest: $4.43 a gallon for regular. I know, I know. Gas is still expensive, really expensive, but maybe, just maybe, all this attention we’ve been giving to gas prices and all the effort we’ve put forth in trying to find ways to stay away from the pumps has been paying off. Maybe all this carpooling is making a difference. Maybe selling that SUV was the best thing you’ve ever done for yourself and for the country. We’re not at the who-needs-oil stage by any means, but let’s keep doing what we’re doing, and maybe oil and gas prices will continue on this lovely trend. Do I hear $2.50?