What's it really cost? The hidden cost

So many things have a hidden cost (or a thinly concealed negative payoff). In an effort to change this dynamic, we queried some of the folks riding the #15 Bus in San Francisco about the true cost of things in their lives. These were offered on the condition of anonymity:

I get to be enlightened®,

because I can almost afford the fee for the advanced spiritual course.

I get to be compassionate,

as long as it's toward people I like.

I get to steal office supplies from my job,

as long as there's corporate greed in the world.

I get to eat another bowl of ice cream,

as long as my ex-boyfriend keeps not calling me.

I get to watch TV every night,

because it's just like being alive, only I get to lie down.

To Realize True Value:

To realize
The value of a sister:
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.

To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.

To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
who has given birth to
A premature baby.

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize
The value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to
Meet.

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

To realize
The value of one millisecond:
Ask the
person who has won a silver medal in the
Olympics.

To realize
The value of a friend:
Lose one.