I want to do a little nitpicking on George Wildey’s letter (BDN, June 24) “Hard times in Maine.”

I feel the high price for home heating oil is a little exaggerated. Why is it that we do not point out all the other things we take for granted in our daily life? For example, we do not complain about the petrochemicals we use every day in laundry detergent, food wrappers and medicine containers.

We do not accept the truth that we use more gasoline and diesel fuel year-round than is necessary to deliver the fuel oil to our homes. After World War II, the assembly lines were working 18 hours a day and it was almost un-American not to be seen with a new automobile on the block.

In 1955, President Eisenhower passed the interstate highway bill and that was the beginning of the road race. We went from six cylinders to the V-eight and zero to 60 miles in eight seconds. America was becoming intoxicated with the automobile.

I could not shake my finger at the Saudi prince. I would like to shake his hand.

Jim Koritzky

Bangor