show-me showdown: ethyl who?

Ring. Ring. Click.

"Amoco."

"Yes. Do you sell that cheaper ethanol gas?"

"Who?"

"Ethanol gas. It's cheaper."

"Cheaper gas?"

"Yes. Ethanol."

"Cheaper gas. Yes. Unleaded. We have cheaper gas. $2.69. That's the cheapest."

"No, I'm looking for cheaper ethanol gas. Our senator Jim Talent said that in some parts of Missouri you can buy this ethanol gas that's like a dollar less than regular."

"Dollar less? No."

Which is pretty much how it went for a dozen calls to gas stations in my zip code, until I wound up talking to a friendly man at Campbell Oil Co. who said QuikTrip carries it. So I called them, but the number I had was to their maintenance shop, which turned out to be good thing because there was another friendly man there who didn't know the answer but he promised to find it and to call me back.

And... Bingo!

I just got off the phone with him:

Friendly QuikTrip Man: No, none of our Kansas City stores carry it. But Casey's does?

Me: Casey's? Like the Country Store Casey's? I thought they were only in the, uh, country (I was about to say "boonies").

Friendly QuikTrip Man: No. There's one on 23rd St. I think.

Which sounded close. But, wouldn't you know it? It is pretty much out in the boonies, way on the other side of Independence.

Oh well. I wanna save me ten bucks on this tank. Let's go gitter done...