I'm a born miser
My wife calls me frugal, my sister says I'm cheap.
What ever you want to call it, I'm not your Average American Consumer
I come from a old Yankee family and I was raised to recycle, repair, reuse, make do, or do without
I'm not about to buy stuff just to support the industry as suggested in JC's column

The rod that I was using this morning is 50 years old and casts like a sweet dream. I picked it a year ago for for $30 and "recycled" it
The reel was a $20 Metalist, the line a $10 factory second.
Did I catch fish with my $60 outfit..yes
Was it fun ...you bet !
Did I have as much fun as the next guy decked out in the latest gear... definitely.. maybe more !!
Spending more that you need to, or more than you can afford to, may be the American way, but you don't have to play that game

And I won't