Things don't seem to be hard enough yet

Since returning from Alexandria last Thursday I've noticed a phenomenon in nearly every location where I've had to get out of the car. At the grocery store, at the pharmacy, at the post office, at the dry cleaner, at one of the churches I serve, I've seen cars unattended with the engines running.

Admittedly, the weather has been unseasonably warm. Hot, truth be told, and I understand today beat an old record by two degrees. Sometimes the driver has left passengers in the car and in those cases, I am assuming, the air-conditioned comfort of those waiting is the reason. And, there could, of course, be extenuating circumstances in the cases where the car is left running without passengers, like some item inside the car which must stay cool, a heart enroute to a transplant, for example.

It's hard for me to believe that every vehicle I've seen left running these past five days has such a story associated with it. Things must not be hard enough yet or gasoline costly enough yet to cause economics or conservation to trump comfort.