WHAT’S IN A DAME : Take my SUV, but hands off my sushi
Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008
OK, so about all these economic concerns and stuff.
Admittedly I really hadn’t been giving them a whole lot of thought. After all, I’ve been really busy. Obsessing over MTV’s The Hills and living in extreme denial take time.
So as gas prices have been rocketing, I’ve just gritted my teeth and continued to try and quench the relentless thirst of the drunkard I drive without too much worry.
So as reports of job cuts and foreclosures have multiplied, I’ve just sighed and shaken my head without too much fear.
So as our financial statements have been sagging, I’ve just shrugged without too much concern.
But finally I’ve seen something that really has alarmed me.
Rice ! Rationing !
My food intake could somehow be affected ? You’ve got my attention.
As this newspaper reported last week, Sam’s Club set a limit on the number of large bags of rice (four per visit ) that warehouse members can buy due to “recent supply and demand trends.” “Rice prices have surged recently on worries about tight supplies as part of broader global inflation in food costs,” our Stacey Roberts wrote. Such purchasing limits could help ease the situation, or ultimately make matters much worse by causing people to panic and stockpile.
Now this is really getting really personal. Take my SUV ! Take my money ! But not my food ! Not my sushi ! Not my risotto ! Not my broccoli-cheeserice casserole ! Leave me with something, please !
(Now might be a fitting time to mention the recent Self magazine / University of North Carolina study that reported that 75 percent of women have unhealthy thoughts and behaviors when it comes to food / their bodies. Which is truly shocking. Seventy-five percent ! That’s all ? I figured it’d be more. )
When everything else is wrong and scary in the world, at least we’ve had culinary comforts to cling to. But that’s going to be increasingly harder to do as provisions’ prices escalate. It’s not just rice; just about everything is more expensive due to demand and increased shipping costs — meat, fish, oil, milk, sugar, fruit, vegetables and eggs. The price of flour, the foundation of so many mood-improving foods, has surged, bringing up the cost of cake, cookies, bread and pizza.
Since we can’t eat to make ourselves feel better, at least we can drink. No, beer and wine prices are on the rise too.
There is, of course, a positive to all of this. Perhaps budgetary concerns are just what we need to be wiser about our consumption habits. We might even lose some weight !
Of course, no one will ever know because we won’t be able to afford to leave our houses. Assuming we’re still able to hold on to our homes.
And where would we go anyway — shopping to buy skinny clothes that we have no money for ?
Wow, I think I’ve actually lost my appetite. Rice to the occasion, e-mail: jchristman@arkansasonline. com What’s in a Dame is a weekly report from the woman ’hood.
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