Christmas 2007

Late in October, I wondered aloud over dinner how I should vote on an upcoming ballot initiative in our state that would have taxed cigarettes and spent the money on health insurance for kids. It seemed like a no brainer on the surface, but I worried that such an issue was important enough for everyone to pitch in, not just cigarette smokers. Logan pushed hard for a yes vote. Taxing tobacco would encourage people to stop smoking, he argued, which would be a good thing, in his view. But if that’s true, I said, then the tax receipts would fall and the money would not be there to fund the program.
“Nope, that won’t happen,” Graham said. “Demand for cigarettes is inelastic.” Logan and I just looked at him. If we didn’t let out a collective “huh?” our blank stares said enough.
“Demand for many things is elastic,” Graham continued. “If prices go up, people decide not to buy them; demand goes down. The demand is elastic.” I think Logan and I were still staring, so Graham jumped up and returned with a pencil and paper. He drew a large X on the paper, and began with the lower left corner of the X, following the line up and to the right. “If this line is price,” he said, “this other line is demand.” He tracked the lines, showing how as prices go up, demand goes down at the same rate. “But with cigarettes,” he continued, drawing a new diagram, beginning with the first line heading up and right, “as price goes up, demand stays about the same.” Instead of completing the X, he drew a nearly level line that started on the left, continued right, but just barely sloped down. Retracing this line, he said, “Cigarettes are addictive, so as price goes up, demand doesn’t fall off. People might forego other items, but they will still buy cigarettes. He continued the trajectory of both lines, showing how as cigarette prices grew higher and higher, the demand line, running nearly level, stayed relatively high. Satisfied that Logan and I finally got it, he put down his pencil and returned to his dinner, concluding, “Demand for cigarettes is inelastic.”
“Where did you learn this?” I wondered.
“Economics,” Graham said.
These conversations are becoming so common around our house these days they hardly bear mentioning, except by way of noting the beautiful transition from a boy to a man that occurs with breathtaking speed. It’s easy for friends and relatives who don’t see growing children on a daily basis to comment on how big they’ve become since the last visit. I do it myself all the time with my nephews or small niece, or the children of friends. It’s harder to notice, at least on first blush, how smart they become at the same time. Somehow, I find it all the more miraculous to think about the information they take in and process on their journey to adulthood. I leafed through Graham’s textbooks the other day while he was at swimming practice: economics, calculus, chemistry, American history; his copy of Steinbeck’s East of Eden for English. I wondered if any of the parade of talking heads who seem to constantly find fault with public schools could do this work for a week, plus the pool time (or the cross country workouts of the autumn). At least it would make them realize how easy their jobs are.
We ended last year as we end this one; Logan in middle school, Graham on the Phoenix High School swimming team. But this winter we have another set of practices and games to attend, as Logan joined the Talent Middle School basketball team. He also ran cross country in the fall, and Logan is planning a track season in the spring, after wrestling in January. That makes him a four-sport athlete, which hardly leaves time for his piano lessons. Graham finished his swimming season in February with improved times and skills, and the Phoenix High Pirates astounded all us fans when the boys and girls varsity swimming squads earned a special award for having the highest combined GPA in the state.
We spent the winter skiing Mt. Ashland and Mt. Bachelor, then departed on the first day of spring for Spain. We met friends there, Javier and Dawn del Rio, during the year they spent in La Mancha. Javier taught both Graham and Logan at Talent Elementary, and on this trip, both Graham and Logan attended a day or two of school, where they found their dual language experience at Talent had provided them with passable Spanish. Later, we met the del Rios on the Costa Sol at a rented a vacation home; Javi’s parents were there, and speak no English. Graham was able to jump into the conversation and I’ll never forget the body language of Javi’s dad when he realized a student of his own son from the US could really speak Spanish. He and Graham embarked on a long conversation about soccer, as we had just seen a game between Spain and Denmark in Madrid. (Logan cheered for Denmark). A few days before, we marked the fourth anniversary of Lisa’s death with our first swim in the Mediterranean. Well, actually, Logan swam. Graham and I sort of hung out on the beach.
But the real wonder of the trip was how well Graham and Logan traveled; they travel well anyway, but on this trip they we’re fascinated by the architecture, food, culture and museums. Before the trip, Logan had completed a research assignment on Picasso, and we spent much of the trip chasing down museums and references to the master. (Logan prefers Picasso’s Blue Period.) Graham lectured me on the War of Spanish Succession, which he’d been studying in Euro History. In Granada, after a long day touring the Al Hambra, sitting at a cafe at midnight on a weeknight, having our late meal of the day, (when in Rome), Graham got it. He looked around the crowded café and said, “I should come here for a year or two after high school, hang out, get to know the country.”
We returned from Spain and I toiled for four whole days, then took off (barely over my jet lag) for a six-day guys’ trip to southern Utah. I flew our Cessna 340 to Livermore and picked up Scott Lambert, and we took our mountain bikes and a stupid amount of gear and flew into St. George, Utah, for a couple days (polygamists at the thrift store!) mountain biking and touring Zion, then on to Bryce Canyon and then Moab. We holed up at the Gonzo Inn in Moab, mountain biking in Canyonlands (desert bighorns!) and Arches, then knocked off the Slickrock Trail in 2.5 hours. (That’s a good time for anyone, let alone a geezer.) We made a quick drive to Grand Junction, Colorado, to see John Prine, so the score was four national parks and one national treasure.
Logan spent a week at an academic camp at the university in Ashland, and Graham spent a week at the high country running camp in the Steens Mountains for the second year. My mom and sister Sheryl and her family came out to see us over the 4th of July, and we all traveled to the Bay Area and did some sailing and sightseeing in San Francisco.
Then, it was back to school; both boys ran cross country in the fall, and Graham’s team did well enough to earn a berth at the state championships, so he was able to add a fat state meet patch to his letterman’s jacket. They are counting down the days to winter break, and we are all watching the weather and checking the ski report daily.
Our best to you and yours for the new year. Love, Los Tres Thirkillos