Thank you

Yesterday, I received a much appreciated picture postcard from the family world traveler sent from San Francisco. I speculated it could be the one in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, or one of the two in Mexico. But WAIT, it has a U.S. postage stamp, so it could be the one in Colorado, except with the recent cutbacks, they probably lost their post office. I've decided it's the one in California. Actually, the image of the nice Nob Hill B&B ($254, including dinner) on the front was a dead giveaway.

All of that was just an intro to the fact that in my youth, such a mailing was called "a penny postcard." It really cost one cent to send, and judging from the 32 cent price today, everything now must cost about 32 times as much. Therefore, the new house that my parents bought in 1941 for $4,500 would sell for $144,000 today. If it's still in good shape, and the neighborhood has not been degraded, I'd pay that, even though it has only two bedrooms and 1-1/2 baths. After all, my life there until I went off to college was idyllic.

Gasoline was 25 cents a gallon in 1941, but when the war broke out in December, availability was limited, and you can be sure the price rose. However, that cost won't be 32 times as much until President Obama is re-elected.