Confession: For a week or so a while back, it looked as if seniors had breathing room. Headlines crossed in the newsroom — maybe in Washington. A good-sized COLA was announced even as breaking news had current inflation at near zero. The relief proved short-lived.

The government, Empire District, the water utility and maybe the gas company were a little delayed, but deliberate, in reacting. COLA itself is a little quirky in its calculation. The calculation process seems rather like letting sophomores write the questions for a take-home, open-book MAP test.

Maybe we were inverse-gap folk, for a year. Enjoy!

Bill Hawkins

Joplin