I'm an old grouch at 33.

[Carmine]

Before anybody thinks I'm too nice, let me come clean and remind you that I trash-picked that set a couple weeks ago. If I find a Zenith roundie, I'm not donating it to the local orphans home!

But it is so sad that people have been brainwashed into zombies who get their self-worth from material stuff. Perhaps because my parents went through some tough times in the 80s (what Chrysler worker didn't back then?) and I saw my dad come home with his coat in shreds while paying the bills at a meat-packing plant, I sure as hell wasn't going to ask for expensive name-brand crap just because some spoiled 12-year-old at school had Nike's.

I wasn't brought up with a bunch of hooey-doomsday stuff about the enviroment, recycling, etc. I was simply taught that being wasteful was a sin, whether with food, electricity, water or television sets! I go to estate sales, and you can always tell those "greatest-generation/depression-era" houses. Lots of good-quality stuff kept clean and working. Nowadays, you go into most houses and its just a bunch of throwaway furniture, Wal-Mart junk.

It's hard for me to get used to grey-haired folk pulling up next to me in a new Dihatsu Charade, instead of an older Mercury Grand Marquis. (I'm very patient with the bad driving of the latter, blow my horn at the former.)

But what are ya gonna do? Hard times are a comin' again, and experience is a great teacher!