Washington took 35 percent of Venezuela's oil into the Pentagon's own column and called it a gift from Venezuela, with gas at a record $4.15.

…(cont) August 30. The president posts that he intends to "fill up the Strategic National Reserves." He calls the process "topping out." And the arrangement itself, printed with the capital letter, he calls "a Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States."

So the giver is named on the page. Venezuela.

Now, a week later, September 6, the Energy Secretary is on television saying the administration reached a deal granting control of more than 65 billion barrels of oil, and he says — I'm quoting — "We have a lot of leverage over Venezuela." Then he says we control the sale of the oil outside, and the sentence is cut off right there on my page, so I'll leave it where it stops. The same Sunday, another outlet writes that the Secretary denied stealing Venezuela's oil one hour after saying the country is "forced to work" with the United States. One hour. That's their count, not mine.

What does a thirty-minute military operation open? Fox News printed it September 11: an oil windfall for U.S. buyers, 300 billion barrels of reserves being tapped, to grow supply and cut prices. And of the 65 billion barrels in the deal, how much is assigned to the Pentagon's own column? Thirty-five percent.

My brother-in-law Ray borrowed my extension ladder in April. Garage, left side, past the mower. In August he brings back the bottom section and keeps the fly section for his gutters, and he tells me he'll handle who the ladder goes out to from now on, and there's a card taped to it. A card. I'm not telling you Ray is the government. I'm asking a smaller question: on the page in front of me, which side of this picked out the present?

If the supply was opened to cut prices, what is the price? I copied the holiday number twice because I thought I had it wrong. Labor Day, national average, regular: $4.15 a gallon, the highest AAA has it for that weekend, ever. Another wire has $4.14. Diesel hit $5.85 on September 4, an all-time high, and the Associated Press noted diesel moves freight, so the groceries move with it. The Times ran a piece the same week on drivers called hypermilers. What are they doing, per the Times? Trying to beat high gas prices.

And how does the present get into the reserve? September 4, on a flight out of Caracas, the Secretary explained it: U.S. companies swap heavy Venezuelan crude for U.S.-produced light or medium crude that suits the reserve better. So what goes into the tank we're told we're filling?

The giver, meanwhile, is in Brooklyn. On September 3, for the ninth month running, people rallied outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where the U.S. is holding Venezuela's president and first combatant while they await trial. Cilia Flores has asked to be let out, citing a heart ailment. Nine months. Same nine as the oil.

I keep finding this shape elsewhere in the notebook, which is my own fault for using one notebook. Thirty-seven days after agreeing to pay $115 million to delivery workers it had underpaid, DoorDash announced $17 billion for Instacart. Western North Carolina asked Washington for storm help after Helene and got an immigration surge instead; on September 21 the Vice President came to Greensboro to campaign for Michael Whatley, and $858 million came with him, at a campaign stop.

Excuse me — I know you're late, I've got the car running myself. One thing. If the buyer controls the sale, and keeps 35 percent of the barrels, and the pump set a record the same week — what's the word on the page for that? I have it right here. "Gift."