A few weeks back, the front-page headline in our local paper said, “County’s cost of living up 66% in 10 years” – not a surprising fact to this household, given our diminishing ‘disposable’ income.  Still, it made me wonder what the cumulative cost of living increase had been in our Social Security payments.  When you are on a fixed income, those teeny tiny yearly increases make all the difference.

So, I added up the Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) we’ve been allowed since 2006 and find that our income has actually gone up 25% in the same amount of time – a net loss in buying power of 41% (unless my math has lapsed into one of those sacks of apples and oranges.)  My reaction is two-fold:  on the one hand, why am I not surprised; on the other, no wonder I’ve gradually stopped thinking about traveling – even those trips that are for the elderly and infirmed.  It’s probably a good thing that the ‘extras’ in life are gradually dropping off our radar anyway.

It also occurs to me that this is yet another example of looking the other way as life envelops you.  I can’t quite think of how to remedy the situation – sign-carrying and letter-writing don’t do much good when it comes to government-anything.  Waste of energy and stamps.  So, maybe I should just bury my head in the ever-present beach sand like the proverbial ostrich.

But, wait!  I just learned that ostriches don’t do that at all.  According to the San Diego Zoo site, “Animals and Plants” – Contrary to the popular myth, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand! When an ostrich senses danger and cannot run away, it flops to the ground and remains still, with its head and neck flat on the ground in front of it.  Because the head and neck are lightly colored, they blend in with the color of the soil. From a distance, it just looks like the ostrich has buried its head in the sand, because only the body is visible.

Yikes!  Unfortunately, that sounds about right.  Many’s the time I’ve had to quell the urge to throw myself on the ground and lie perfectly still until it all goes away.   Maybe we should all try it.  It could be the newest form of protest…