Cool your jets before you feel sorry for me. It was not a legitimate crime worthy of a 911 call. It was a crime of my own stupidity.

My I Phone 13 is fourteen months old, but its screen was a mess. Even though it was covered with a sticky, plastic cover, it showed serious wear. So much so that I thought the glass screen was damaged. As a result, I went to the Verizon store on Thursday fearing the worst–I’d have to get a new phone, a new model with all the fancy doodads I’d never master. A young technician approached, “How may I help you?”

To me, he looked like a he may be sixteen, a veritable child, who was a helluva lot tech smarter than this old lady. I explained my problem. “Is that all? Let me see your phone.” In a slight movement, he removed its battle-worn case and the plastic screen cover. “See? The glass is fine. You just need to replace the screen and the case.”

Whew! I dodged that bullet. Thank God, I don’t need a new phone. “Do you want me to take care of this for you?”

“Absolutely.”

Within five minutes, he worked his magic on the screen. “This is the only case we have for your phone. You’ll notice in doesn’t have the magnetic, charging circle on the back. Do you need that?”

“Yes, I do. You’ve got a whole wall of cases in here, and you’ve none for my phone. Why is that?”

“Your phone is a 13. There’s 14’s, 15’s, and a soon-to-be released 16. Apple slightly alters the size of each phone, so cases aren’t compatible. Try Amazon for a case.”

“I will, thanks. How much do I owe you?”

“Uh, $65.15!”

Talk about sticker shock! (No pun intended.) I struggled for control; I couldn’t go off on a kid who had no control over company pricing. I paid the bill and fumed my way home. Unfortunately, later that evening I ordered a case on Amazon and looked at their pricing for screen covers: $4.99-18.99! I was robbed by my own stupidity.

In this election year, both of our political parties blame high prices of gas, groceries, and even ten-cent pieces of plastic phone screen protectors on each other. In a free enterprise system, government has at best, limited control over pricing in the private sector. Look at the profits big business has made in the last two years. Look at the salaries big business pays its corporate management. And finally, don’t forgot all the tax cuts, mega corporations were given between 2016-2020.

Isn’t it ironic that Islam and Christianity teaches about the seven deadly sins–one of which is greed? Yet…the beat goes on.