Learning How To Do Without (Again)

I, like most of you, was not alive during the period known as "The Great Depression", which took place between 1929 and 1940. The little that I do know about it came from the history books, movies, TV shows, older members of my family, and (of course) my parents, who were children at the time. I especially remember one of many conversations that I had with my mother about the depression, which took place when I was visiting with her about 10-12 years ago. The reason that this occasion sticks out in my mind is because, for the first time, I think I really understood just how poor my mom and her family really were back then. She was one of eleven children and yet, they somehow survived that difficult period in time. A family of that size is practically unheard of now... the most obvious reason being, who could afford to clothe, feed, and house that many children, given the cost of things in today's world?

On this particular day, my mom and I were looking through some old photographs (as we often do when we get together) and she came across one that she had never shown me before. Somehow, the photo wound up underneath the drawer where she normally kept all of her pictures and she accidentally discovered it when she pulled the drawer out too far and it fell to the floor. After she scooped up all of the photos that had fallen on the floor and put them back in the drawer, she turned toward the dresser to put the drawer back in place and noticed that one lone photograph was lying in the open space where the drawer needed to be placed. She reached in, pulled it out, took a look at it, and said... "Oh, my God. I haven't seen this picture in years." Then, she turned around and handed it to me. She told me to look at it very carefully and tell her if I noticed anything odd or strange about it.

At this point, I should probably tell you that I've never been very good at doing things like this... seeing the handwriting on the wall, reading between the lines, discovering hidden meanings, figuring out riddles, etc. Sometimes, by the time I "get" the punch line of a joke, everyone else in the room has moved on to another conversation. I'm the one who will burst out minutes later and say, "Oh, I get it!" Anyway, I looked at the picture and studied it as hard as I could. It was a very old black and white photo and it was not in the best condition. What I saw was two little girls standing on the running board of an old pick-up truck. One of the little girls looked to be about 3-4 years old and the other one looked to be about 5-6 years old.

My mother pointed to the obviously younger little girl and said, "That's your mommy!" She also told me that the other little girl, who was a couple of years older, was her cousin. Then, again... my mom told me to tell her if I noticed anything odd or strange about the picture. After a few minutes, I shook my head and said, "I give up. Just tell me what I'm not seeing." She looked at me and asked, "Did you notice that we have on coats and hats?" I told her "yes" but, I still had no clue what she wanted me to see. Then, she asked me, "If it was cold enough for us to have on coats and hats, don't you think we should have on shoes too?" Shocked and embarrased that I had missed something so obvious, I looked at the photo again and, indeed, saw that the two little girls had no shoes on. I got very upset because it was cold and these children had no shoes to wear. The fact that one of them was my mother, caused tears to stream down my face. But, more importantly, it helped me to fully understand something else that my mother had said to me many, many times prior to that moment... "God had brought her from a mighty long way."

Now, it is 2009 and I am trying to "ride the tide" of this new version of the depression called "The Recession." In spite of everything, I feel blessed that every time I had a coat and hat on this past winter, I had shoes on too. My parents generation, which is also known as "The Greatest Generation", did whatever they had to do to make sure that their children never had to suffer in that way. For the most part, they succeeded in that quest and we are eternally grateful. Unfortunately, they had no way of knowing that another form of the depression would rear its ugly head again many years later and we can only "hope" to pull through this difficult time with the same degree of dignity, grace, and perseverance as the generation before us. I have always felt that one of the most valuable lessons that they learned as children growing up during the depression is "how to do without". Thanks to their many years of sacrifice, we never had to learn how to do that until now. For most of us, this is a difficult thing to learn and it remains to be seen how we are going to come out at the other end of this dilema. And, we have already been told that things will probably get worse before they get better.

In spite of ourselves, it might interest you to know that we are making progress in our efforts to do without and I found an interesting article yesterday that supports this fact. It stated that American households are substantially poorer and, as a result, a whole lot thriftier than they were when the recession started. Many families are cutting expenses that once seemed hardly worth worrying over. They're avoiding ATM fees, eliminating extravagances such as delivery charges, declining to pay extra for the more-convenient parking space at ball games, etc. Further, the article listed 15 things that are obviously overpriced and have caused the American people to "rethink" spending what available cash they do have on them at this time. The article suggests that we are "learning how to do without" and making better decisions regarding how we spend our money. I thought the list was quite interesting as well and worth sharing with you. If we continue to stay the course and, above all, trust that God will help us to "weather the storm" the way our parents did, we might just make it through this new depression called "The Recession".

1. Movie popcorn--Theater popcorn is a movie staple, however, it is costing us more than $1.00 an ounce. Microwaveable popcorn costs less than 10 cents an ounce and this could be the reason that some people are waiting for DVD releases to watch at home instead of going to the movies.

2. Event parking--The cost of parking has been a pet peeve of the general public for a long time. For example, some people will park miles away and/or take public transportation to avoid the cost of parking close to a stadium. Parking prices have also kept some people away from other venues and the recession appears to have raised the anger over such charges to road-rage levels.

3. Printer ink--Much of the real cost for a home printer is the ink. It is no wonder that many people now refill cartridges at office supply stores or print out only essential documents. The executives of a leading printer manufacturer recently acknowledged that fewer Americans are printing at home.

4. Drinks at restaurants--People have plenty of reasons to bark about the cost of drinks at restaurants. Prices for beverages have increased significantly over other restaurant offerings and, in particular, soft drinks, juices, and coffee. This could be the reason that many people are drinking in moderation.

5. Bottled water--Prior to the recession, the convenience of buying a bottle of water seemed to justify its $1.00+ price. Now, some people are becoming more reluctant to cough up cash for something that is virtually free from the tap. And, in light of reports in recent years that the bottled water you are drinking may originate from the tap anyway, it is causing many to rethink the need for buying it.

6. Gourmet coffee--Apparently, elaborate coffee houses have lost some of their appeal. Some people would rather brew coffee at home or buy a regular ol' cup of joe instead of shelling out their hard-earned cash for gourmet beans and higher-priced espresso concoctions at these pricey establishments.

7. Restaurant holiday specials--Some restaurant prices are much higher on holidays such as Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, and New Year's Eve? Why? Because more people want to go out on holidays, this enables restaurants to increase prices without ending up with empty tables. Now that the "jig" is up, some people are actually celebrating these special days in creative ways at home.

8. Movie tickets --When the going gets tough, the tough (and the not so tough) go the movies. It seems that movie theaters are benefiting from folks trading down. Although many people complain about $ 10.00+ ticket prices, a movie is still one of the most affordable dates around. Yet, there are some people who have taken advantage of recession sale prices to purchase big-screen TVs and they are opting to stay at home.

9. Oil changes --This might surprise you but, apparently, more people are doing things such as this themselves. The folks who can't do it themselves are keeping a sharp eye out for coupons.

10. Airport food--Airport food is very high. Airline retailers have "got you" and they know it. But, what people might not know is, the closer you get to your gate, the more the food generally costs. This is because food options tend to decrease farther from the main terminal areas and that is where the more dollar-conscious people are eating.

11. Ticketmaster fees--Some people are gladly eliminating the "middle man" ticket sellers and buying directly from box offices to avoid the so-called convenience fees.

12. ATM fees--Some people don't want to pay banks a single penny to withdraw their money because many banks have increased their ATM fees to generate additional revenue. Many banks also charge their customers additional fees when they use an ATM outside their network. It has been reported that people are being more deliberate about using ATM machines that are linked to their banking institution.

13. 401K management fees--People are angry about paying money-management fees on their retirement savings. Many investors are beginning to feel that they would have done better if they had tucked their money under a mattress. Could this be the wave of the future?

14. Airline baggage fees--People are getting less but paying more. The free food is gone and legroom will cost you extra money. Some airlines charge for blankets and pillows but, no fee has ruffled more feathers than baggage fees. It just doesn't make sense to some people and they are finding ways around paying it.

15. Hot dogs at baseball games--Many people maintain that they will never buy ballpark food because of the high prices. The prices have steadily risen in recent years.