It costs how much?

Dearest Augosto.

I don't know if this will be of any interest to you but from time to time I plan on posting the prices of various things to give you an idea of what things cost today. I feel it might also serve as a reminder for me so when I complain to you about rising prices I can start off my sentences with "When you were little, coffee didn't set you back half a days pay" or "Just 20 years ago, you didn't have to take out a loan to buy gas."

As of today,
A cup of Starbucks coffee at the hospital : $1.60
Regular Unleaded Gas in Milwaukee: $2.69 a gallon.
The Journal Sentinel(the daily paper): 75 cents.

Thinking about those three items makes me wonder how important they will be as you grow up.

--As for coffee, I think it will always be a staple in our society. I'm a coffee lover. So are most of the people in my cohort at Northwestern. Your mother on the other hand doesn't like it. Not one bit. I do have to admit that I didn't always like coffee. It wasn't until I was in the US Army and I needed something that would help me wake me up after less than 3 hours of sleep. And if there is anyone out there who has tasted this stuff, they will tell you that Army coffee will do the job. It's like drinking 5 espressos. And just because it is called "coffee" doesn't mean it is anything like what we have in the civilian world. Army coffee is thick and black(like tar) and it is chewy because it is full of coffee grinds. It's the perfect example of what other American companies are doing to basic food items like hamburgers, honey and cheese. I could go on and rant about it but I'll just say this, "just because it looks like (blank) and smells like (blank), doesn't mean it is."

--As for gas, I do hope that the future has brought us to a point where we don't have petroleum dependent cars. Hybrids are becoming popular nowadays. If your mother and I could actually afford one, we would definitely own one. Until then, we have a car that gives us pretty good gas mileage. Maybe when you are old enough to have a family, they will have cars that run on plastic grocery bags or trash or even dirt. It seems like there is plenty of that around.

--Last but not least. The newspaper. Like film, the daily newspaper(in its print form) is slowly becoming a dinosaur. I don't know anyone who actually reads the daily paper except for both your grandfathers. I just prefer the Sunday paper in print form. I do hope you at least get to experience lazy Sundays with the Sunday newspaper. Your mother and I love them.

Now go to sleep.

love.

Dad.