I started swimming lessons when I was in second grade at the YMCA in the fall of 1969. My mom would give me a quarter, which I used to get a soda [[5 cents) and two candy bars [[10 cents each) out of their vending machines. One Saturday I finished swimming and went to the vending machines and my heart sank: sodas had been raised to 10 cents and candy bars to 15 cents. In one week, my snack purchases had been cut from three items to two.