I am an elitist bitch.

I discovered the silver lining to this whole $3+/gallon for gas mess.

I own a really nice house, with a nice big yard and nice big garage, in a not-so-hot neighborhood. The big park across the street attracts mobs of punk-ass teenagers, who cavort loudly there until the wee small hours and leave it littered with junk food wrappers, spent firecrackers and dirty diapers. (Of course the teen mommies bring their babies with them to these late-night parties!) Our street is also a common cut-through, as it is the only two-way street between two major area roads for several blocks. All day and night long, cars with cherry-bomb mufflers and waaaaay too many woofers cruise up and down our street subjecting us to crappy ghetto "music."

That is, they *used* to. Since gas hit the $3 mark, traffic has practically vanished on my street. No cruising kids in bassmobiles. And, surprisingly, no punk-asses at the park - I didn't realize it, but kids from other neighborhoods were driving themselves to my street to raise havoc in the park across from my house. My neighborhood and those around it are largely lower-middle-class and working poor; those who can afford gasoline at all are hoarding it to drive to work and the grocery store. Wilding teenagers simply cannot afford to fuel their ghetto cruisers anymore, so therefore, they aren't troubling us anymore.

Esther and I hung out in our yard for hours yesterday afternoon. We enjoyed the sounds of birds singing, breezes blowing in the trees, and lawnmowers up and down the block. I didn't hear a thumping bass tube all day long. It was like we suddenly were living in suburbia.

It was really nice.

If this continues; if gas stays up over $3 and my city's unparented teens can't afford to be a pain in our butts anymore - perhaps we can make peace with our neighborhood and live there happily in our wonderful house rather than sell it and buy something we can't afford in a "better" area.

Part of me feels bad that I'm deriving happiness as a result of the catastrophic effect sky-high gas prices have had on the lives of the poor. The only reason I am not similarly suffering is that I was fortunate enough to have been born white, into an educated family.

The rest of me wants gas to stay at $3+ from now on so I can enjoy my new, improved neighborhood instead of moving. It's as if I was handed a neighborhood upgrade without having to pay for it. I'm really enjoying the peace and quiet, and I'd like it to stay that way. I'm glad that all my city's poor, unparented, punk-ass teenagers who take such pleasure in ruining my quality of life suddenly can't afford to drive out of their own damned neighborhoods.

Does that make me an elitist bitch?