Dear Heloise: Many people try to help conserve water by turning off the faucet while brushing their teeth. I realized that when I turn on the water to rinse out my mouth, I do not need the water going at full force. Turning on the faucet halfway or less can also save a bit of water. How many times do I turn on the facet “full steam ahead” when I don’t really need that much water? I tend to do this when I wash my hands, wash vegetables, rinse dishes, etc.

Being observant can make a difference. Small things add up! — Kay Walsh, Harrisonburg, Virginia

COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY

Dear Heloise: This gentleman recently wrote in bemoaning that pay during the Great Depression was “only $3,600 to $4,000” per year. The average pay during the Depression was actually about $1,419 per year. $4,000 in 1933 is equal to almost $95,000 in today’s dollars, while $1,419 is equal to about $33,000 in purchasing power now (adjusted for inflation).

I remember being somewhat gratified by how much I had been able to increase my earnings over my 40-year career as a family doctor. However, allowing for inflation, my earnings from my last year at my practice were just about what I earned my first year in practice. (Don’t get me wrong; I earned a very nice living for my 90- to 110-hour workweek.) Oh, well, at least my salary kept pace with inflation. I’m retired now.

The point of his comment, I think, was that we take for granted all that we have today. I think a correct comment also could be made that folks in 1933 took for granted all that they had when compared to the average person in 1833. And I’m sure people in 1833 took for granted what they had compared to people in 1733. That seems to me the way society has progressed over the centuries. I wish I could live to see how things will be in 100 years.

I read your interesting column in the Hagerstown Herald-Mail each day. It almost always brings me a smile or a chuckle.

I had an elderly patient who used to come into my office, and he would write his thoughts, concerns and questions down on envelopes he had gotten in the mail. He told me that he used the envelopes for scratch paper and never threw them away. He apparently had boxes of old envelopes with notes written every which way, all accumulated in his home. Yikes. Kindest regards. — Allen W. Ditto, M.D., in Hagerstown, Maryland