I heard on National Public Radio this morning a chilling story of theft in New England.

Seems that thieves are tapping into maple trees in Maine and stealing the sap used to make maple syrup. Maine forestry officials are all over this story, looking for leads into who’s depriving our nation’s youngsters of the syrup they use to smother their pancakes and waffles. This is a serious story.

The NPR reporter also noted that the syrup derived from the sap is a bit pricey. Maple tree farmers sell the syrup to grocers for about $50 a gallon, which the reporter said is “roughly 13 times greater than the price of gasoline.”

I’m not yet sure what to make that bit of information. Either we should be thankful we aren’t paying a whole lot more for gas (which is a no-brainer), or we should be wary of the day if and when gas sells for a price approaching that of maple syrup.

We’ll likely be hearing stories about huge spikes in gasoline theft. Indeed, that theft increase will occur long before the price of gas ever hits $50 per gallon.