I know this is a few weeks after the fact, but I can't help it. Bush's "State of the Union" address still haunts me.

America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.

Did Bush really say that? Isn't that like a street-corner pimp complaining about people being "addicted to pussy"? Look, if you used to deal it, I don't think you should be allowed to complain about it.

And could these "unstable" parts of the world be that way because they happen to have a lot of oil? And, like, we're addicted to it, so we're always hanging around, talkin' smack, causing trouble, hoping to score some more?

But Bush's wor ds haunt me for other reasons, too.

This past weekend I took my 4-year-old son to the Philadelphia Auto Show. Though not quite addicted to oil, he is a serious car junkie. I don't know where this came from. I can barely tell if a car is domestic or an import; my boy can spot a Chevy HHR from 50 yards out. He's been devouring adult car magazines since he was two. If I ever break down by the side of a highway, screw AAA. I'm calling my son.

At the crowded Auto Show, my boy jumped behind the wheel of every unlocked car he could find. The glee on his face was infectious. Even I started to get excited about cars, which for me, is like getting excited about a blender.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder if he was hopping into machines that, for him, would soon become embarrassing vestiges of our addicted past: oversized metal monsters that mainline foreign oil? Bush wants to go cold turkey on Middle East oil by 2025. My son will be 23 years old by then. Will he be driving a pollution-free car that runs on hydrogen? And will he think that's just as cool?

Sure, there were hybrids at the Auto Show. (Please don't ask me to name them.) And they received some mild attention. But I mostly saw families swarming around SUVs with names like Expedition and Colorado and Freelander and loaded with video screens, SurroundSound stereos and couchlike seats. I'm sure it won't be long before we see the "Hummer Manifest Destiny: More Car That You Can Possibly Comprehend."

Will the $10 billion Bush earmarked be enough to cook up alternative energy sources to power these behemoths? Will auto addicts, having moved their entire living rooms into these suckers, ever want to give them up?

Snow flakes started dropping by Saturday afternoon, so we walked outside and made our way to the Market-Frankford El. It's still a bargain; a token for me, a free ride for my son. The train rocketed through the dark tunnel beneath Market Street, and my son was mesmerized. He fired questions at me nonstop. Why do the doors close? What does "This train making all stops" mean? What is handicapped accessible?

He stood up between the seats and watched the tops of row houses speed by.

At home, he was just as excited about the train ride as he was about the Auto Show.

It might be tough for us to go cold turkey. But there is hope for future generations. Let's not fail them by dropping the ball on alternative energy sources. Or slashing public transportation funding.

Peeling off into the distance—and I swear, I didn't plan all of the car metaphors to follow; it just happened that way—is a longtime member of the City Paper family: art director Jessica Weber.

Jessica started working here in September 1997, and over the years has poured gazillions of gallons of energy and creativity into this paper. She says she's received something in return, too (aside from a paycheck). "It's been awesome to work with people with such big ideas and who embrace Philly with the enthusiasm our writers, editors, artists, sales people and staff in general do," she says. "Now that I'm leaving there is part of me that is sad that I won't be one of the people steering the audience in new directions. But at the same time, I'm really excited to finally be a passenger again. I couldn't have hired better drivers."

Best of luck to you, Jess. We'll miss you, and even your office-wide pages, asking us to call 246.