“Enough!”

That’s a major role of Mom and Dad – When little kids are doing or saying or eating too much of something, it is the job of the parents to tell them, “That’s enough, now,” or “That will be enough,” or “That will be just about enough of that!” 

Too much noise, too much acting out, too much candy, too much talking back, too much television. That’s enough, now. 

We assume when we grow up that we don’t need anybody saying “enough” anymore. We will have learned when enough is enough, when it is time to get up from the table, when we need to shut up and let someone else talk, when to go to bed, when to end the vacation and go back to work. 

But – after we have grown up – what if it is enough and yet we don’t stop? Who will be the parent to tell us that it is time to cut that out? My father died when I was very young. I don’t remember the sound of his voice, except I remember that he said “Cut that out!” He was emphatic about it. It was his way of saying, “That will be just **** about enough of that!” 

A couple of weeks ago my partner Susan and I drove from Santa Barbara to Agoura Hills just north of LA to see Dr. John from New Orleans play at the Canyon club. It was on a Friday. The trip of about 60 miles took about two and a half hours. Usually on a Friday afternoon, the traffic is bad going the other way as LA comes north for the weekend, but that day it was bad in both directions. At the Canyon Club, dinner is served before the show, and seating is European style with eight at a table, so Susan and I got a chance to meet three other couples. Among the topics of dinner conversation was The Traffic. These folks had come from different directions, and everything everywhere coming and going was stop-and-go, bumper-to-bumper. 

Where was everybody going? 

Dr. John was fabulous! His small band was amazing. Dr. John was – on a side note – pretty upset with British Petroleum for wrecking the coastal areas of his beloved home state of Louisiana. He sang his new song, “Black Gold,” indicting BP for the disastrous spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 

I enjoy vilifying big corporations as much as the next guy. I really do. I cut my teeth on that back in the 60s and 70s. The damage and destruction to life and property and the environment that gigantic corporations have caused in my lifetime are so … I don’t know what to say. 

But that’s not what I was thinking about as Dr. John sang his ranting song. What I couldn’t help thinking about instead was the ocean of traffic I had just driven through to get here – not an ocean of electric cars, hybrids, micro-cars and “fortwo” coupes, but an ocean of mammoth Cadillac and Lincoln Suburbans, triple-axle Hummers, pick-up trucks that belonged on Montana ranches, suburban titans, and (this was near Hollywood) the luxurious and notorious fuel-guzzling Lamborghinis, Bugattis, Ferraris, Bentleys, and Mercedes-Benzs. 

Bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go. 

I actually saw a guy shaving in his rear view mirror.

One person or one family, all by themselves, enjoying the convenience and luxury of instant mobility in a vehicle of their choosing is not a bad thing. This is, after all, a “free country.” Who does it hurt? Their choice actually helps stimulate the economy.

But collectively we Americans consume 21 million barrels of petroleum per day – not just in our cars but in everything from lipstick and lubricants to motor oil and medications. The United States consumes (according to the Energy Information Administration) more gasoline than South America, Europe, Africa and Asia combined. 

Whose fault is the oil spill in the gulf? There will be a long conversation about that as we search for the culprit, the entity who we can blame and vilify and point the finger at.  

But – what did we expect? Who did we think was going to be in charge of satisfying our voracious appetite for an endless stream of petroleum to fuel our lifestyles? Did we think it was going to be someone who was more interested in the environment than in figuring out how to meet the need? – Someone not unwilling to cut corners to deliver the most oil for the least cost so they could profit more? 

Who is really to blame, as we take out the Ford F-150 4WD or Hummer to run across town to Starbucks for the double Latte? 

And (most important) who will be the one to say? – “That will be just about enough of that.”

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