Richmond Parents Monthly | Fifty Plus - Richmond magazines for seniors and parents

<% '------------------------------------------------------------ ' This function finds the last date of the given month '------------------------------------------------------------ Function GetLastDay(intMonthNum, intYearNum) Dim dNextStart If CInt(intMonthNum) = 12 Then dNextStart = CDate( "1/1/" & intYearNum) Else dNextStart = CDate(intMonthNum + 1 & "/1/" & intYearNum) End If GetLastDay = Day(dNextStart - 1) End Function '------------------------------------------------------------------------- ' This routine prints the individual table divisions for days of the month '------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub Write_TD(sValue, sClass) Response.Write " " & sValue & "" & vbCrLf End Sub ' Constants for the days of the week Const cSUN = 1, cMON = 2, cTUE = 3, cWED = 4, cTHU = 5, cFRI = 6, cSAT = 7 ' Get the name of this file sScript = Request.ServerVariables("SCRIPT_NAME") ' Check for valid month input If IsEmpty(Request("MONTH")) OR NOT IsNumeric(Request("MONTH")) Then datToday = Date() intThisMonth = Month(datToday) ElseIf CInt(Request("MONTH")) < 1 OR CInt(Request("MONTH")) > 12 Then datToday = Date() intThisMonth = Month(datToday) Else intThisMonth = CInt(Request("MONTH")) End If ' Check for valid year input If IsEmpty(Request("YEAR")) OR NOT IsNumeric(Request("YEAR")) Then datToday = Date() intThisYear = Year(datToday) Else intThisYear = CInt(Request("YEAR")) End If strMonthName = MonthName(intThisMonth) datFirstDay = DateSerial(intThisYear, intThisMonth, 1) intFirstWeekDay = WeekDay(datFirstDay, vbSunday) intLastDay = GetLastDay(intThisMonth, intThisYear) ' Get the previous month and year intPrevMonth = intThisMonth - 1 If intPrevMonth = 0 Then intPrevMonth = 12 intPrevYear = intThisYear - 1 Else intPrevYear = intThisYear End If ' Get the next month and year intNextMonth = intThisMonth + 1 If intNextMonth > 12 Then intNextMonth = 1 intNextYear = intThisYear + 1 Else intNextYear = intThisYear End If ' Get the last day of previous month. Using this, find the sunday of ' last week of last month LastMonthDate = GetLastDay(intLastMonth, intPrevYear) - intFirstWeekDay + 2 NextMonthDate = 1 ' Initialize the print day to 1 intPrintDay = 1 ' Open a record set of schedules Set Rs = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.RecordSet") ' These dates are used in the SQL dFirstDay = intThisMonth & "/1/" & intThisYear dLastDay = intThisMonth & "/" & intLastDay & "/" & intThisYear sSQL = "SELECT DISTINCT Start_Date, End_Date FROM t50Events WHERE " & _ "(Start_Date >=#" & dFirstDay & "# AND Start_Date <= #" & dLastDay & "#) " & _ "OR " & _ "(End_Date >=#" & dFirstDay & "# AND End_Date <= #" & dLastDay & "#) " & _ "OR " & _ "(Start_Date < #" & dFirstDay & "# AND End_Date > #" & dLastDay & "# )" & _ "ORDER BY Start_Date" 'Response.Write sSQL ' Open the RecordSet with a static cursor. This cursor provides bi-directional navigation Rs.Open sSQL, sDSN, adOpenStatic, adLockReadOnly, adCmdText %> Richmond Parents Monthly | Fifty Plus - Richmond magazines for seniors and parents

First Thoughts by Angela Lehman-Rios

Ten years ago, not many people were willing to imagine gas at $4 a gallon. Yet here we are, contemplating—and in some parts of the country, paying—that price.

(Meanwhile, our collective imagination has at least noted that some trouble seems to be on the 10-year horizon, in the form of 75 million Baby Boomers, all of whom plan to reach at least age 95, asking for their Social Security benefits.)

Sure, as a percentage of income, gas prices are still less than what they were 25 to 30 years ago. But that’s speaking only generally. Not everyone earns more now than they did in 1980; for example, people who are easing out of the workforce or who have entered full retirement or have been laid off.

No matter what your current income situation or gasoline needs, you’re probably thinking about ways to cut back, especially since you’re also paying increased fuel costs in the form of higher prices on goods and services.

Switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle is an option for some, but the savings are not significant in the big scheme of things. The only way to truly spend less on gas is to drive less.

Carpools, public transit, staying home: whatever options we choose, they will require a great shift in our expectations of freedom, convenience and entertainment.

For example, does sharing a ride to work mean you’ve lost the freedom to leave early some days, or does it mean you’ve gained the freedom to sleep a little longer some mornings and read the newspaper in the car?

Does skipping a trip out of state mean you’ve lost the chance for a splendid getaway, or does it mean you’ve gained an extra day or two of vacation by not spending so much time in transit?

Speaking of a day or two of vacation…. In this issue, Fifty Plus is full of day-trip ideas. In fact, you could spend nearly an entire month visiting the places our writers suggest. Randy Fitzgerald gets the ink-efficiency award, at 10 trips per page.

For a fuel-efficient outing, why not find a friend or another couple to travel with? Share the car, share the driving so everyone gets a chance to enjoy the scenery, share the map-refolding duty if you need to. And of course, share the price at the pump.

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