This morning I went to the diner with the intent of catching up with the local news and some cranberry, walnut pancakes. As I sat down with the “House Paper”, there was this older guy sitting a table over from me and you guessed it, we got into a conversation. But it wasn’t just any conversation, it was about baseball. Now this guy was probably 15 years older than I am and the more he talked, the more I knew that he was an encyclopedia of the game. He regaled me with stories about Ted Williams and how he loved watching him play the game, especially running the bases. I thought of trying to impress him with my story about how I met George Scott, but part way through my story he cut me off and said, “Oh Yeah, the real Boomer”. “You know, everyone thinks the Big Papi is a big man. The Boomer makes Papi look like a little boy.” “People forget how big that guy really was.” So, realizing that this guy really just wanted someone to listen about baseball and not talk, I ordered another decaf and sat back and just listened. He told about the last time Clemmons went head-to-head with Schilling. He and his wife sat in the grandstands. All the times he had taken his boys to Fenway and the great times they had. When he finished about half an hour later, he just got up and threw some money down and walked out. That guy had the biggest smile on his face. That was all because of baseball. A game so simple and yet so diverse that it can bring two complete strangers together for just a short time and share a cup of coffee. Yup, that’s baseball.
But I digressed before I even started with my “official” blog. You know, the one that actually talks about money.
The first quarter ended about how I expected it to. I believe the second quarter will continue to trend up, but it will be a bumpy ride. We are still dealing with a high inflation rate which I think will affect our buying power. As I write this President Biden tapped into our oil reserves which should drop gas prices about 8 cents a gallon. The higher prices of pretty much everything will lead to less purchasing of the frills such as Televisions, Boats. But on a positive note, it seems the ports are starting to open up so those long-awaited deliveries and all the back orders will start to happen which should spur production and hopefully drive down prices. I read in the 2022 Auto issue of consumer reports a small article that mentioned that some used cars were more expensive than a new model of the same type. Can you imagine that you just came home with that two-year-old SUV feeling that you just killed it? That you had those guys at the dealership wishing that they never met you. Two days later your next-door neighbor drives up with a SUV just like yours, only red. You both start bragging about your deals. But then you found out that they paid 4,000 less than you? Talk about buyer’s remorse!!!
Anyway, I hope you all have a Happy Easter and a great spring….