2000-05-01 - 22:36:44

May 1, 2000

PRICES

Heather talked me into leaving early to do our usual first of the month trip to our credit unions to get budget cash for the month. A journey I dislike as playing "line roulette" is no favorite game of mine. No matter what line I get in, it will slow and then stop. As soon as I have leapt into another line it slows and stops, while the line I just left speeds up. A no win situation, whatever choice I make it turns out to be wrong

I wasn't paying too much attention as Heather drove, we had several more errands to do. I suddenly looked up realizing we had turned in too soon for the destination I thought would be our next stop. Circuit City, the Heaven for impoverished, needy window shoppers. Before we got there I had just read a cutey, "Veni - Vici - Visa," "We came, We saw, We bought." So this old Latin boob pretending total innocence and ignorance was led up to the counter he had been wishing at a week or so ago, and we spent enough bucks to choke a hungry dinosaur. As we loaded the stuff into the car Heather said, "We just bought you a Father's Day present."

It was an automatic conclusion already and as we were going out to the car I was already cranking up my devious think box, planning which oldie but goodie to use and hope that Heather didn't remember so I could get into it long before Father's day.

I proceeded to plan while she picked up stuff here and there, cleaning and all that normal first of the month stuff. We parked at the super market and she said, "Come on Bastion, I need some help." So, O.K. I grabbed a basket to lean on while I trailed her from aisle to aisle. I had been there with her last month, and this month was the usual jaw dropping scene. It totally amazes me how fast prices rise on the stuff we need to get. It seems that they rise more rapidly each month. Logarithmic I think it is. We buy the necessities and trundle over to the checkout stands and write a check to cover the national debt of Lower Slobovia, take our groceries to the car and load it. Prices - - great grief they go up and up. I don't get raises like the people still working do. Once you retire your income is pretty stable, becoming worth less as time goes by. But you do what you gotta do ? no ?

As we drove off I thought of another wisecrack read this morning, "One hundred thousand lemmings can't be wrong," as we followed the lemmings bound for the north shore, fighting our way through traffic and stop lights. Unloading accomplished, I collapsed with a cup of hot tea calculating in my head and coming to a rough estimate of how soon we would be starving. I dozed, a good thing too, equanimity restored somewhat when called to eat I managed to keep my mind off prices, prices, prices. Realizing that the only prices coming down now are the ones on electronic gear. PRICES, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN.

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