Happy Birthday Henry!

Today is my dad's 59th birthday! I'm sad that he and my mom live so far away (only about 120 miles, really) because it makes seeing them very often difficult with all of our schedules. Troy and I are making a concerted effort to get up there more often though and they often stop in and stay for a few days at my house, so that's nice.

Dad doesn't talk much. At least to anyone else, but luckily I can sometimes get him to talk to me. I'm always amazed at some of the things he knows! I may have been college-educated, but he has an uncanny way of knowing things I didn't even know existed. For example, in the state of Indiana, each of the license plates have a county designation on them that is a number. The counties are numbered in alphabetical order and Marion county, the largest in population, has several numbers assigned to it. Given a moment, I think he can probably name just about any county given that numerical designation. Now, I'm a numbers person and I can't do that!

So, in honor of Dad's birthday, a look back a the year 1948:

What Things Cost in 1948:

Car: $1,550

Gasoline: 26 cents/gal

House: $13,500

Bread: 14 cents/loaf

Milk: 86 cents/gal

Postage Stamp: 3 cents

Stock Market: 177

Average Annual Salary: $3,600

Minimum Wage: 40 cents per hour

* Only one in ten Americans has seen a television set up to this point.

My how things have changed! Only one in 10 Americans has a TV set? How many of us now have MULTIPLE sets? Wow! And yet, somehow, there is still nothing on!

So, happy 59th, Dad! Here's to hoping for a least another 40!