DREAMS DON'T HAVE A PRICE..........

UNTIL THEY BECOME REALITY.................................

The discussion happened on a turned-out-to-be-a-nice-day-on-the-lake and inquiry from Shirley about a past blog based on rationing.

Old Trunks shutters when she thinks way it must be like raising children in today's economy. I suppose times are as lean now as they have been in the past.

The third party in the boat had a digital camera she had won. The first time we were out, her memory stick was full; the second time the batteries were dead. She stated she got black edges. Obviously the camera is faulty but she wouldn't spend 'that kind of money' on a camera. I giggled somewhere where she couldn't see because she was wearing a pair of sunglasses more costly than a point and shoot digital with a good lens. There's is a two income family well beyond most of middle America. But struggles happen on that level also. And dreams don't have a price until they become reality. Would this family, like the lady across the street who's husband died, be encouraged by an advisor to sell the expensive house? How lean can we be?

Shirley emailed how the people in the southeast couldn't get gasoline for vehicles, they were talking about rationing in Georgia, for example. It is a scary thought. When I answered the email, I was not clear when I talked about rationing. In my mind, I was agreeing that if rationing happened, as it did in WWII, I would understand the need to save product for the war in Europe cause. It read as if rationing was happening here, in the Midwest NOW, which is not so. Rationing in WWII, was mandatory. Although from conversions over head as a child, most people would do what they could to make it work including the planting of victory gardens. Shirley requested the Old Trunks and Worn Shoes blog about rationing, ( Link: http://oldtrunksandwornshoes.blogspot.com/2008/04/three-cans-of-peas-please.html ).


When she wrote back, after reading Three Cans of Peas Please, she told me this story:

Mom used to tell of when they'd go to visit Alice and Carl..she had canned blueberry sauce and offered some. Ralph was a kid and made a horrible face because it was so sour. Alice brought out the sugar so he could add some..the adults were really watching Ralph so he wouldn't use too much. Alice told them to let him have what he wanted cause she had more. Mom said with as bare as her cupboards were, everyone knew there was no more. But, Ralph had sweet sauce.

Can Americans be fugal again? Could you be Alice giving her brother sugar?

Think about it.

e