By Staff
You've probably heard the news about folks in Haiti fighting about the cost of food. I realize this isn't Haiti, but I'm starting to get mad enough to fight about the cost of food myself.
We have worked on stories in recent issues of The Brewton Standard focusing on the price of gasoline and how it has made a difference at the grocery store and other retail outlets.
I have noticed the price of several items increasing at the grocery store lately. The prices have risen so much lately that I'm thinking about getting some chickens, planting some wheat and getting a cow.
You probably feel the same way I do, but I don't think we'll be seeing riots anytime soon at any of the grocery stores or even at the homes of our mayors.
I'll go on record now by telling you now that I'm guilty of not watching as much national and international news as most people around me. I'm too busy doing laundry, finding something for supper (or dinner) at my house, taking care of homework and ironing school and work clothes for my family.
I can look back to a time when I was a child (many years ago), when the price of food began to take a drastic rise. I can even recall my daddy fussing about how much money it took to buy groceries for our family.
The one thing he didn't mind paying more for was coffee. I even recall him saying, back in the 1970s when coffee jumped in price by nearly a dollar a pound, that it was just then getting to what it was worth. I guess I am my father's child. The price of coffee isn't even figured into our disposable income budget. Coffee is a necessity at my house and I'll pay whatever is necessary to make sure I have a cup or three to start my day on.
I suppose everything is relative and it all depends on where your priorities really are. It's important to me that my son have milk to drink. The fact that it costs $4 a gallon these days hasn't stopped me from buying it. I just make sure he pours a little less in the glass. You can always pour more, but I have an aversion to pouring it back into the jug if it isn't consumed.
I admit I'm a bread person and you can bet there will be at least one loaf of sandwich bread at my house on any given day. Since I think that bread is a necessity, the cost is almost irrelevant. Even at more than $2.50 per loaf, I still buy it.
I will admit that I've given considerable thought to getting some chickens. But when you figure in the cost of the grain you'd have to buy to feed the chickens, you might as well cut out the fuss and muss and pay the going price for a dozen eggs at the grocery store.
I may turn the air conditioning off from time to time. I'll make sure there are no lights or televisions on in rooms where there are no people. I'll consolidate my trips to the store into as few as possible to avoid additional purchase of gasoline. I hope you've figured out by now that I do have my priorities in order.
Man, doesn't a scrambled egg sandwich and cold glass of milk sound good?
Lisa Tindell is news editor for The Brewton Standard. She can be reached by email at lisa.tindell@brewtonstandard.com.