Rarity

Rarity
(by R.P.Edwards)

“Worth…it comes from rarity”
Said the jeweler to his son
“To find the gems with perfect fire…
The values upward run
This diamond, here
That ruby, there
The others, in their way
So very few you’ll find like these…
So the customer…must pay.”
Then the little boy
With upheld hands
Was lifted to the breast
And as he lay against the silken tie
He whispered from his rest
“You’re my only daddy,
So you’re worth most of all”
Then the jeweler paused…
And kissed his son….
As golden tears…did fall.

“Do you know what this is?” I said to my fifteen year old son as I waved four one dollar bills (the cost of his prospective shoe rental at the local bowling alley) in front of his face. “That’s three loaves of bread,” I continued. “We could live a week on that--with a few additions, naturally. But here you go.” Now, let the reader understand (especially if any relatives are online) that this lecture was not terribly serious, but the awareness level was indeed raised. As so very many in this economy can attest, decreased income causes increased scrutiny. Where a year ago I would have parted with the “ones” with a wave, now they are rationed. A year ago, when simple automotive hiccups would perplex, I would let the “professionals” diagnose, and treat. Yes…with decreased supply…comes increased value and, of course, the most valuable things among us…are not “things” at all.

As an aside: in the early part of the last decade (when our household population was halved and my steel mill stint had not yet begun) there was a discount store (still there) that sold loaves of bread for twenty-five cents. My lament would be, “Do you know how many loaves of bread you could buy with that money?” Funny how old inclinations surface under duress. And…Oh yes…the loaves at that particular store have only tripled in price. We, with a larger crew, now go for the jumbo package found elsewhere.