It was early this morning, just after 4 AM and already my day---and the focus of today’s Crane’s Corner-- had been colored by two sets of numbers. The four-wheeled German super computer disguised as a car, was beeping and illuminating my dash board on the drive in, alerting me that only 11 miles separated   a well organized early morning commuter from a schmuck  on the side of the road, too dumb or too poor to put enough gas in the tank for the drive to work.

About that time, I approached the intersection of Watt and Fair Oaks and did a double take. The Arco station was hawking gas for just 3.99 a gallon. Well I paid a little more for mid grade, but the Arco banner worked; stimulating business for them, and a new working theory for me...the pricing pain---it’s all relative. There was a time when I first began to drive that gas was less than a dollar. Agreed..it’s kind of stupid to compare pump prices in 1975 to 2012…but a Google search confirmed another memory. Right after Barack Obama was elected in 2008, gas around California was selling for about 2 a gallon. Hold that thought, while we do a little math.

Our family gas bill now, with two people working and driving, is around fourteen hundred dollars a month. Back in 2008, for a couple of months it was probably 700 dollars. A difference of 700 bucks a month or $8400 a year.  How would the economy be if we all had another 8 grand to spread around? Did you ever think you would spend more on gas, than on rent? Some people are.  You can't blame the President for escalating gas prices...there are myriad factors, but you might question if the administration has done enough to bring those prices down. Like green lighting more drilling and exploration.

The next set of numbers.

Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and the big money behind them will have spent 2 billion dollars in the combined quest to run the country. 2 Billion!

Yet, the number…like $4 plus per gallon…just doesn’t faze us. Well think about this. A family of four can be fed well for a thousand dollars a month, so the money Barry and Mitt blowing in the run up to the election could feed 2 million families for a month, or 166 thousand families for a year.

I also marvel at people who despite the crazy times in which we live, seem to filter it all and despite great odds succed. People like Lisa Culp, whose run a non profit Womens Empowerment program in Sacramento for 11 years now. Over that span…good times and bad, she’s brought about a thousand woman into her program and out of poverty, helping them work their way back to a better life and a brighter future for some 13 hundred children. Or one of the most inspiring people you will ever meet.

Her name is Renae Goettel. She's 27, and some years back became a Make A Wish "wish child". She credits the respite that organization provided her, for the boost she needed to succed against big, nasty numbers.

She was born with an extremely rare illness. How rare? One person a year in the U-S is born with it. She went blind as a child. Developed kidney problems and under went more than a year of dialysis, later a transplant.
But wait, theres more. She was diagnosed with cancer, which doctors said would probably kill her.

It was just another daunting challenge. She beat cancer; became  the first visually impaired student  to graduate  Trinity College in Texas. Did I mention she’s run two marathons and has a great job? Ask her about it, about the odds of her living, surviving and thriving. 

She'll smile and wave a hand dismissively. She has no fear of numbers, even when they're stacked against her.