Milk is all I needed

Saturday nite I decided to fry up some chicken nuggets with cream gravy. No milk.....no problem, Braums ice cream store is only a mile or so away, I'll make a quick trip. While I'm in there passing all the ice cream, I take a gander..oh look, they have all new eye catching packaging, so I pick up one of my favorites (black cherry amaretto yogurt), grab some orange juice & proceed to check out. I have a cold & started coughing. The cashier smiles sympathizingly. 'Sounds like you have a bad cold', 'yes, I sure do', says I smiling. ' I had one too, ended up going to the emergency room @ 3 A.M. in the morning' (love it when someone uses 'A.M'.in the morning...aren't they the same?) She continues, 'I was @the emergency room for over two hours & the doctor prescribes this cough syrup. I went to walmart to get the prescription filled & do you know how much they wanted for that cough syrup? 'Hunh Uh'? '$38.00'! I just told them I didn't want it & went & got some stuff off the shelf'. 'My husband died last year, but if he was still alive, he would'nt have let me get by with doing that'. (I'm still smiling and acting interested in her tale) 'Ya, he was a real stickler when it came to following Doctor's orders........my daughter is the same way, so I didn't even tell her I was going to the emergency room', 'she woulda had a fit' she continued. I stopped smiling...'excuse me, did you give me a receipt'? 'Oh, honey, I'm sorry, here it is.....I was just telling my friend Shirley.......'Hell, for $38.00, I coulda got a good bottle of whiskey'! 'Yes, I'm sure you could have', I'm agreeing as I make my exit. I get to the car & realize I forgot my milk, but there is no way in hell I'm going back in there. I stop @the Conoco across the street & get A pack of cigarettes, A Sunday paper, & a 1/2 gallon of milk. $10.83! ......cigarettes have gone from $3.85 to $5.50 a pack in one week, & the Sunday paper has gone from $1.50 to $2.00 in the past week.. My yogurt was the same price in its cute new packaging, but noticed when I got home it read: 3 pints, (not 1/2 gallon) I keep saying I have to stop smoking even tho a pack lasts me a couple of days. Nicotine patches have probably climbed to a hundred dollars a box by now.