I stopped at a gunshop I have not been to for a few years. It was in a different state, so I mainly looked around. Last time I was there, they had a Ruger No. 1 in .256 Newton caliber. I didn’t buy it, but it was interesting looking. This time I found a box that was half-full of brand-new, never been fired .35 Whelen brass. The price was only $6.00, so I snapped it up without even counting them.

When I got home, I checked the brass, emptying the box. There were 50 of them in the box. In the bottom, there was a receipt from Midway. One-hundred of them had been originally bought in 1988 for $19.95. The cost today is approx. $60 for the same quantity, about three times as much.

Unfortunately, I am not making anywhere near three times what I made in 1988.

In 1988 I made 3 times what I made in 2011. And I worked just as hard or maybe harder in 2011.