children of their own. The oldest, a girl, married an electrician and moved to nearby Maryland. The older son dropped out of high school and got a job loading luggage at National Airport, a few miles away. He was shortly promoted to the payroll department, and his ambitions grew—he enrolled in night classes in public speaking and salesmanship. In a few years he had established himself as a real estate salesman and had acquired a white Oldsmobile convertible. Ten years later he was the manager of a mortgage finance company and had bought a Lincoln Continental. His preference for a big, expensive car was explained to his mother: "He told me that he needed to have a big car for prestige," she said.

Mr. and Mrs. M seemed content with their possessions and their station in life. Mr. M in particular had the manner of a man who had worked hard and successfully making his way up in a difficult world. The Ms have come from kerosene lamps and wood stoves to color TV and air conditioning. Throughout this journey they have bought with care and hesitation. They have, for example, never bought a home in northern Virginia though they are saving people and they have now lived there for over twenty years. They have bought eight cars in 40 years, an average of one every five years, and they have never bought a new one. They now have a five-year-old Chrysler. Though Mr. M would have preferred a smaller car that consumed less gas and cost less to run, he deferred to Mrs. M, who explained that she insisted on a big car "because I am afraid of those bugs."

The Ms were asked what they would do if they suddenly had a $5,000 windfall. Mr. M said, without hesitation, "I'd put it in savings." Mrs. M said, "If someone gave me all that money I'd buy a stereo for my grandchildren and put the rest in savings." Then she thought some more and said, "I'd also buy a blender and then put the rest in the bank." There are a few things that Mrs. M would like in an ideal world—a humidifier, for example—but there are other things she wouldn't take at any price, like a dishwasher. "What good is a dishwasher?" she said. "You have to rinse the dishes off anyway so you might as well do the whole job." Mrs. M's daughter has a different view. "She insists that she couldn't live without one—she can't understand me."

When asked for their views about the energy crisis, Mr. and Mrs. M said that Congress is "mainly responsible for the fuel oil shortage." They said they would be willing to see a tax added to the cost of gasoline but only if "they used it on pollution, fine—but not if they used it for planning or for taking surveys." They believe that the fuel shortage can be resolved by "everybody being more thrifty and conserving."