Perceived Value

Fiorella's Christmas tree ornaments are precious to her. Not that they're worth a lot of money--the most she's ever paid is $12 for a nine-inch long yellow school bus--but because they are fragile. She loses one or two of them every Christmas, and, because styles in ornaments change yearly, replacements are impossible. Thus the Virgin and an angel are the only two she has left out of a charming nativity set she bought fifteen years ago, but, on the other hand, she picked up a dump truck, a food stand, two choo-choos, two fire engines, and two aviones (airplanes) last week and has hung them from the artificial greenery swag above her mostrador de madera (wooden counter), an interesting trade that might have something to do with what is happening in the country today.