The Cost of Living

Things are getting tight. Money tight. Not just for us, but for everyone. I see it everywhere. The last few times I was at Publix I noticed prices were higher, and lines at checkout were shorter. While we were in NC prices were outrageous. But when we came home we found that prices here in Jacksonville had also increased.

The other day I bought 5.8 gallons of gas for $24.99. That will get me about 120 miles. Glad I don't have my old job anymore where I traveled around to the counties, some days traveling well over 100 miles. There is no way I could afford doing that today.

I sound like an old fart, I know. Talking about rising prices. F and I sit and watch TV and are amazed when people use the word fart on television, or commercials that target men with "weak streams" and erectile dysfunction. We hear ourselves talking about how no one values anything any more, how we live in a disposable society and how wrong that is. Just 2 old farts, not adjusting to change.

Every generation has moved into that behavior as they approached 60, 70, 80 years old. The world changes faster than we can adjust to it. I know I have gotten to the point where computers are the outer limits of my technological expertise. I wouldn't know what to do with an iPod or any of the new kind of cell phones. I don't have a camera on my cell phone. That's not what phones are for. At least not for me.

Speaking of change, I had an epiphany while on vacation. F and I were driving and passed a big truck on the road. I was in the passenger seat and as I turned to look at the truck we were passing I noticed pig snouts sticking out between the slats of the truck. Many, many pig snouts. They were jammed in there like the Jews put in cattle cars to Auschwitz. That is the image that came into my mind. I realized that they were being sent to slaughter in the same way the Jews were, and that it was also horrific, even though they were animals and not humans.

It hit me like a brick that I am a participant in that brutality regardless of how removed I am from the process. I can stare at "meat products" wrapped in cellophane on a shelf in the supermarket and not feel any more connection to the process than I do to the process of growing a tomato when I buy those. But I am connected to the process of both of those products merely by consuming them.

I felt sick from the sight of the pigs and decided that I would commit to vegetarianism. This is something I have thought about for quite awhile. For years in fact. I have never felt ok about eating meat again, but I have done it with gusto at times. Each time, discarding the thoughts of how wrong it is. Last December, H.H. Karmapa came out with a statement on meat eating, promoting vegetarianism and encouraging practitioners to stop eating meat. It has been on my mind daily since I read his comments about it. I am now ready to commit to it.

Being vegetarian is something I did for 10 years. I liked it and didn't have a hard time with it. It takes more work preparing foods and more thought to make sure meals are balanced and that there is enough protein. When I lived in NY it was easier in many ways because fresh made tofu was so readily available. I have not been able to find 1 single vendor here who sells fresh tofu. That is the best source of protein for vegetarians, and for me, since I can't eat rice too much. But I will focus on it and do everything I can to be make this transition successful.