Recently, as I walked around a parking lot in Auburn enjoying the 65 degree weather and wishing our men and women in uniform were out of harm’s way, I noticed many people idling their cars.

How comfortable do we need to be?

This gave me an idea. Although President Bush has not asked everyday Americans to do much to help with this war effort – except to shop – I realized there is a way for us to help and to remember the discomforts that our troops are experiencing. And it is this: let’s stop idling our cars.

Turning them off when we run into a store, to pick up our children at day care, or to run in the house will help us to remember that we are doing this to save gas. The more gasoline we save, the less critical Iraqi oil fields are to American interests.

It is not always 65 degrees in Maine in January, and when we turn our cars off and wait inside and it begins to get a little chilly, we can remember that our troops are uncomfortable, too.

Deserts are hot or cold. Iraq is a desert, and we can bet that our troops are either sweltering or freezing when they are outside.

Let’s save gas and feel just a little discomfort – for our troops.

Joan Churchill, Hebron

Copy the Story Link