The cost of t'ings ...

~ what is truth, fiction, or magician misdirection?

It’s not just here.

Or over there, in your town, someone else’s city - it’s everywhere, on the streets, at the ballot boxes - worldwide, everyone is enraged.

Nearly everyone.

I realize the small percentage of elites, rich, richer and richer beyond imagination or unaffected.

A few of them will mouth words implying empathy, but it sounds like Rockefeller dishing out dimes during the Great Depression …

… but without the dimes.

In a world teeming with over 8 billion people, you'd think we could collectively catch a break, yet here we are, too many ordinary folks - grappling with that ever-elusive dollar. Some are scrambling to earn it, others are pinching pennies to save it, and many find themselves just one buck short when the rent or grocery bill comes knocking.

Isn't it ironic?

We live in an age of 3D printing and genome sequencing - but we can’t press a button to make vegetables, grapes or a steak …

The global economy, complex and interconnected, seems to have a peculiar sense of humour — one where the punchline is always at our expense.

Meanwhile, a select few debate whether to buy a second yacht or invest in the next space venture, sipping lattes that cost more than it costs to feed a family for a day in most of the world. It's almost comical how the cost of living keeps sprinting ahead while wages stroll, whistling a tune as if oblivious to the race.

So here we stand, 8 billion strong, united by the shared experience of seeing reality in our communities, streamed to our wrists - please beam me up and drop me somewhere warm a dollar short. Perhaps the real global currency isn't money at all but the collective sigh of exasperation heard 'round the world.

I publish this Musings column daily and post poems, short stories and other ‘plus/+’ content weekly. Many of you enjoy this content for free, and I truly appreciate your readership. Paid subscriptions are modest: $8 monthly (26¢ a day), $72 annually (20¢ a day), or you can donate any amount. Paid subscribers get extra content, but everyone is welcome - your presence matters. But if you haven't yet become a paid subscriber, I'd be grateful if you'd consider it. Thank you for reading Musings, and thanks to Substack for supporting writers like me. Warm regards, Mark

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This week’s bonus [Musings+] postings for PAID subscribers:

SHORT STORY: END OF THE LINE ~ POEM: BIG PANTS

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