"Heres a dirty little secret". How many times does a commercial or political announcement begin with that phrase? It is popular, convenient and get's your attention. Dirty is a word used in so many contexts. Dirty dishes, dirty underwear, dirty joke, dirty job, dirty trick. But dirty little secret sort of snuggles up to you because you are about to find out something that not everyone knows. So here goes. Today's dirty little secret is not about gas prices or groceries but instead the must haves. Your cell phone. Checked the bill lately? Most services went up by 25 percent. Some less, some more and a few the same. BUT on average 25 percent. Gas went from 2.25 to 5.00 a gallon at one time. Unbelievable and although it has come down, it's still too high. Your cable bill? In the last year most have increased by as much as 20 to 40 dollars a month. The excuse? It's ESPN. They are the dirty little secret. That's what they tell you. Well, when we stopped using as much gas, magically it came down. Not as many trips to the store, the school, etc. If all the network affiliates banded together, amidst all the howling, there would be a settling. ESPN might have to cave. If you remember, they cut their staff by half less than two years ago. It's still supply and demand. Water bills are up and so is electric. I don't expect anyone to turn off the air or quit taking showers, but those who cut the cable have proved to themselves, there is life after ESPN or just about anything else. I learned as a kid during world war two you can do without. It wasn't fun but we all got by. The dirty little secret today is that we CAN'T. Don't want too and will not. Our world is made up of all of us who say they would rather be a have than a have not. Do you know anyone who would be a have not if they don't have to be? Probably not. To have and to hold, is to be mighty bold, but we will be ruled, by who has the gold.
Simple? You bet. Keep the dirty little secret.