My list of things that need explaining keeps growing.

I’ll add another item right here.

Why is it that gasoline prices shoot up a dime or more per gallon at one shot, but trickle back down a penny, maybe two, at a time?

It’s happening all over Amarillo. Gasoline dealers across town are advertising prices for unleaded regular gasoline at a penny less than they were, say, yesterday. The “new normal” for cheap gasoline, remember, bears no resemblance to what we used to call “cheap.” But that’s another story.

I’m trying to get a handle on why the price escalates so rapidly and then stays at that new level until someone up the gasoline sales chain of command decides to start ticking it back down.

I keep thinking there’s some kind of mind game going on. Gas dealers want us to get used to the higher prices, it seems, so that the next price spike doesn’t seem as painful.

Or … gasoline dealers want to hang on to their profits for as long as they possibly can before giving some of it back. Is that the case?

I know. I should call one of the gasoline dealers and ask them personally. I happen to be acquainted with one of the leading dealers in the city.

Maybe I can ask him. However, if I do, will he give me a straight answer?