"Workarounds"
Ever have a seemingly minor conversation and, for some reason, it sticks with you?
Several years ago I found myself in Hawaii. Newly widowed, I went out there because (1) I always wanted to see the place, and (2) I was looking for a little time to come to terms with my experience and chill out for a little while.
It was, under the circumstances, a pleasant visit. I loved the beaches, and the hotel staff was amazingly courteous. Also, the helicopter ride I took was pretty cool as well. Camped out in my hotel in the evening, it was enjoyable to watch the initial broadcast of The Roosevelts series that was airing on PBS. (While waiting for the helicopter tour, I was talking with some Canadian tourists. They were mildly complaining that Justin Trudeau was looking competitive in his campaign to become Canada’s PM. The husband said something about Trudeau having been “born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” The complaint was fairly mild and that fit with a generalization I easily make about Canadians. Even when disgruntled, they’re polite about it.)
One evening I was in a store on the island of Maui and picked up a few things. I was chatting with the young (attractive) female salesclerk. She had come to the island to live and was telling me about the high cost of living there. She told me that, as a young person working in retail, it was important to find “workarounds” so she could stretch her dollars and get by in a high-cost environment. I was in admiration of her obvious pluck and resourcefulness.
The conversation brought back a few memories for me. My first radio job (1977) was in north central Illinois. It paid an amazing salary of something in the neighborhood of 7-thousand dollars a year. I, of necessity, found a few “workarounds” as well. Back in those days the grocery stores would sell a Kraft spaghetti meal kit that consisted of, in addition to the pasta, a small container of tomato sauce and some parmesan cheese. The cost? About a dollar. I ate a lot of those.
Perhaps the present environment of persistently sticky inflation caused me to revisit my Hawaii conversation. I imagine many of us are looking for those little “workarounds” these days.