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quick document-production was born. My salary was barely above minimum wage, and my take-home pay was around $300 per month. On such a small salary, I could not afford to purchase a home, even though a delightful starter-home was around $15,000. Because I had was a curious sort, I gradually learned to do bookkeeping. (I wanted to know how it was done, what it meant and how it pertained to the business I was working in). I enjoyed it, was offered a position assisting the head bookkeeper and my salary rose, slightly, to around $350 per month. By this time, houses were selling for $20,000 to $25,000. Still above my meager means.

Fast forward twenty-five years. Computers help businesses create perfect documents. Computers make record-keeping simple and concrete. Some Americans, like me, learn programs as they come along, in order to provide better service to their employers. Some Americans, like me, lose their jobs to others who understand more complicated computer programs that will bring a business into the 21st Century. Some Americans, like me, go back to school late in life to learn these new programs and have to re-enter the workplace with less standing than before. Those of us who have had to take backwards steps cannot afford such luxuries as houses on our meager salaries. Cars take five years or more to pay for, and gasoline is a big chunk of our paycheck, as are lights and electricity.

Fast forward another five to ten years. Houses now cost $179,000 to $225,000. Although this American is now completely computer proficient, can type 80 words per minute and writes as a second career, this American has never owned their own home. There are new programs out there to aid first-time-homebuyers. Alas, I feel I am getting too old. Se la vie.

I am not complaining! There was nothing wrong with having to learn to live within my meager financial means. It put me in the company of some very good and interesting people. People who have learned to make repairs on their homes themselves. People who know that a bookshelf can double as a pantry shelf.

Although we see thousands of television commercials each month here in America - there is a certain amount of pride in having "done something our self" rather than buying the newest gadget.

By the way, many of us have become immune to the power of commercials. We are not at all interested in having more "things." We are more interested in being compassionate and concerned human beings! Yes, many of us see the "American Dream"

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