Miss Liz, just a thought… You never mentioned how many gallons of gas you get/got for those $77. Gas IS expensive, I know ‘cause I had to fill Dad’s tank this past Saturday (it was nearly empty),,, 65 litres (about 17.15 gallons) set him back 841 Swedish crowns (about $139) and he has no fancy car, just a Swedish SAAB 9000, and luckily for him he “only” needs the “cheapest” (IF one can put that word in the same sentence as with gas) kind. And by cheap, I mean 12.94 crowns /litre (about $8.10 a gallon. One gallon equals 3.79 litres in the US according to my old grammar book). Gee, I hope I’ve done the math correctly.. My town has no subway, we only have buses. As of Jan 1st of this year, it now costs $2.64 for the public to ride ‘em (I don’t have to pay, have a free pass); the ticket lasts for one hour. But, after the latest (?) re-arrangement of the routes, it’s very difficult to ride longer distances within that hour. Shorter distances are fine though. Another example: The movies - one ticket now costs, at least, $16.53 and often families have to pay that price for their children too…plus…. going to the movies and not having popcorn (or other candies), well - it’s unheard of! That’ll set you back even more. $66,12 just for the tickets and then almost the same amount for the popcorn/candy (if you buy it at the theatre. Most people bring it from home) - gee, no wonder so many download from the internet… Mind you - by family I mean the two parents and two children… To either fill the tank of your car, or go to the movies… you definitively need a tax refund…

If you are going to spend some of your economic stimulus money consider contributing to your local food bank. The satisfaction of thinking about people in your community sitting down to eat when they otherwise may not have. That’s satisfaction beyond any object can give you

If you don’t mind, Liz, let’s get to your topic #3 — the meaty one — right away. First, let’s get rid of that word from the past - RETIREMENT - and never use it again. Retire? Doesn’t that mean “resting”? “Sleeping”? Doing nothing at all? And we know that we WILL look old, GET old lying around with nothing to do. You know I’m right. Now “transition” is a word I like - I like a lot!! It means that you are just jumping from one stepping stone to another, but stopping to “test out the waters” along the way — winding your way around until you find that niche that revs you up in a new way. I haven’t read those books - but will — but I know the answers that have worked well for me. The first: you have to step out your front door. No “poor me” stuff or everyone will ignore you like the plague, for gosh sake! Age IS a STATE OF MIND — so why talk about it when you hopefully feel more than the faint stirrings of life within. Be interested in others, listen, and the ideas that drop into place may be the stimulus you need to be off and running in a direction you never dreamed of. All I can say is that I think that life begins around 50 and then keeps getting better and better in all departments — but keep your mind really sharp and your smile open. And then wow wow wow . . . You’ll see!!

We made the decision on how to use our “tax rebate” as soon as we heard about it. We would use it to pay bills. Believing that the best way “we” could boost the ecomomy would be to have our bills and such remain current. Using cash as our primary method of payment whenever possible. If there is something out there that we just simply have to aquire, we’ll plan for it. Comparing “it’s” cost to our monthly expenses like the electric bill or car insurance. This is not something new for us, I’m glad we’ve always worked hard to do this. We have a motorhome which we love taking to the island for long weekends. Thus far, we have not gone due to diesel fuel prices; the tank holds a whopping 150 gallons! I jokingly told my husband the other day we should camp out in the rv even though it’s in the driveway ……. it’s got all the amenities that our home does; besides it won’t cost us an arm, leg or mortgage! After reading the vast book choices of others here on wowowow, their love of reading is evident and inspiring! I realize that my not finishing books is like retiring into laziness. Since joining wowowow, I’ve been jotting down the titles of books that interest me just in case the reading bug gives me a nibble. I almost went to the bookstore several days ago, somehow I ended up at the grocery store instead …..I have however, elected to purchase a new book for my birthday; deciding to start with “Smart Women Don’t Retire — They Break Free”.

Liz, you brought up concerns on my mind. I “broke free” a few years ago but retirement isn’t part of my future, due to concerns like how to pay bills, fill the gas tank and live a quality life but not the quality of life that my mother had. I think as women, these are concerns that are important to discuss. My tax rebate check, if it ever arrives in the mountains of Colorado, will be put away. I always like having the government contribute to my “get away, break free, retirement plan”. I hope that by the time I’m eligible for social security, I will get my return on my investment (all the deductions I paid the the government when I was younger) and receive more pay backs besides this one time from the government for the rest of my life. And I hope the gas speculators lose their shirts for raising the gas prices. It will be nice to not have a Oil President in the White House next year. I’m looking forward to that too!

I don’t know where you are in the mountains, Suzanne, but you might be interested in the Carousel of Happiness at Nederland. Just google it. Best, MP

I find it odd that no one has mentioned that the money we are getting is ours. The taxpayers support the government so we are all getting excited about getting our own money back. (Which I am sure we will have to pay for in the future - our taxes have to increase to get out of this financial mess.) I am going to spend the money on whatever is necessary but I will thank my Grandchildren - not Bush. They are the ones that will pay it back.

I’m not excited. I’m irritated. It’s all sham and show and bread and circuses. Which is why I’m giving half to the food bank. I’m thinking to send the other half to earthquake relief in China. My BS alarm has been going off ever since they started this nonsense.

One thousand nods of agreement, Mugsy and Maggi. What an enormous crock. If the public buys this “windfall” as anything but a little “re-gifting” I give up. My granddaughter needs it to help with college tuition and that’s where mine is going.

Think the price of gas is high now? Who pays when Democrats *punish* big oil with higher taxes? We do, who do you think! Written by one of the most brilliant journalists of our time (and YES he is a black man..oh gasp..a black man who has made it because he is brilliant NOT JUST BLACK.) Alert, may be over the heads of some liberals who post here. May 13, 2008 Too “Complex”? By Thomas Sowell Some people think that the reason the public misunderstands so many issues is that these issues are too “complex” for most voters. But is that really so? With all the commotion in the media and in politics about the high price of gasoline, is there really some terribly complex explanation? Is there anything complex about the fact that with two countries— India and China— having rapid economic growth, and with combined populations 8 times that of the United States, they are creating an increased demand for the world’s oil supply? The problem is not that supply and demand is such a complex explanation. The problem is that supply and demand is not an emotionally satisfying explanation. For that, you need melodrama, heroes and villains. It is clear that many people prefer to blame President Bush. Others prefer to blame the oil companies, who have long been the favorite villains of the left. Politicians understand that. Numerous times they have summoned the heads of oil companies before Congressional committees to be denounced on nationwide television for “greed,” with the politicians calling for a federal investigation to “get to the bottom of this!” Now that is emotionally satisfying, which is the whole point. By the time yet another federal investigation is completed— and turns up nothing to substantiate the villainy that is supposed to be the reason for high gasoline prices— most people’s attention will have turned to something else. Newspapers that carried the original inflammatory charges with banner headlines on page 1 will carry the story of the completed investigation that turned up nothing as a small item deep inside the paper. This has happened at least a dozen times over the past few decades and it will probably happen again. What about those “obscene” oil company profits we hear so much about? An economist might ask, “Obscene compared to what?” Compared to the investments made? Compared to the new investments required to find, extract and process additional oil supplies? Asking questions like these are among the many reasons why economists have never been very popular. They frustrate people’s desires for emotionally satisfying explanations. If corporate “greed” is the explanation for high gasoline prices, why are the government’s taxes not an even bigger sign of “greed” on the part of politicians— since taxes add more to the price of gasoline than oil company profits do? But it would not be as emotionally satisfying. Senator Barack Obama clearly understands people’s emotional needs and how to meet them. He wants to raise taxes on oil companies. How that will get us more oil or lower the price of gasoline is a problem that can be left for economists to puzzle over. A politician’s problem is how to get more votes— and one of the most effective ways of doing that is to be a hero who will save us from the villains. You have heard of the cavalry to the rescue. But have you ever heard of economists to the rescue? While economists are talking supply and demand, politicians are talking compassion, “change” and being on the side of the angels— and against drilling for our own oil. Has any economist ever attracted the kinds of cheering crowds that Barack Obama has— or even the crowds attracted by Hillary Clinton or John McCain? If you want cheering crowds, don’t bother to study economics. It will only hold you back. Tell people what they want to hear— and they don’t want to hear about supply and demand. No, supply and demand is not too “complex.” It is just not very emotionally satisfying.