Sacrilege

The SF Chronicle had a big front page story on the "new frugality" this morning. There I was reading their list of what is "IN" and what is "OUT":

IN: Saving
OUT: Borrowing
Check. Makes sense.

IN: Fixing the old car.
OUT: New car.
Speaking as one who is still driving around the '96 VW Golf, check.

IN: Tap water.
OUT: Bottled water.
The waste of the plastic bottles alone makes me cringe. No problem.

IN: Patching.
OUT: Remodeling.
Okay, we're in the middle of a big remodel, but I can go along with this. For other people.

IN: Staying at home.
OUT: Foreign vacations.
Yup. We put our big UK trip on hold for a year or two.

IN: Libraries.
OUT: Bookstores.
WHAT? (She says, spitting her tea all over the morning paper.) I'm all for libraries - I visit mine all the time. But at the same time, I buy lots and lots of books for all of us. I don't see cell phones on the list. Or all of those downloaded songs from Itunes. What about the daily Starbucks visits? And the endless cable options?

The editors of the Chron should be ashamed of themselves. For just a few dollars, you can buy a trip into the mind of another person, walk a mile in their shoes, visit other countries. Bookstores - OUT?!?!?!

For the price of two or three Frappaccinos, you can get a book that you can return to again and again - like visiting an old friend. A book a week, that's all we ask. They should be ashamed.

On this date: In 4977 B.C. , the universe was created (according to Kepler, but I don't think he was there).