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"Look at it this way, it cost you twenty dollars to get rid of him. Right? He's never gonna bother you again. He's never gonna ask you for money again. He's out of your life for 20 dollars. You got off cheap. Forget about it." — Sonny, in the screenplay "A Bronx Tale" written by Chazz Palminteri.
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I've just come to realize that I may never see 300 euros that I loaned to somebody who's mysteriously decided that I am not his friend. So, in the process of coming to a rational and peaceful resolution (and having "nobody there" to speak with,) I remembered Sonny's advice to the young Colageno.
And I arrived at an obvious question.
What is the value of Colagero's twenty dollars, from a screenplay set in 1960, compared with my 300 euros in the summer of 2008?
Naturally, the real monetary comparison is difficult — financial value in a distant place and a different era. But, in a painful situation, the question is a way to have some fun.
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A dollar, today, is worth 66 euro cents.
The $20 of 1960 was worth between 113 and 524 modern dollars. The variance depends upon the manner of computation — the criteria being a set of mathematical tools that economists use for various purposes.
20 dollars from 1960, based upon the Consumer Price Index, clocks in at about $140 in 2008. That's about 95 euro. Let's say 100. I lost 300.
I lost about three times what the kid had to give up — but I'm not a kid, so the comparison equalizes a bit.
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| I can almost map it out....
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But, of course, I lost a friend.
That algorithm is more difficult.
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* The analogy between myself and Christ is not apt.
According to the biblical story, Judas accepted "blood money" for the identification of Jesus, whom the Roman government wanted on charges of sedition.
My friend simply stopped being a friend. He'd borrowed money, and whether or not this had anything to do with his decision to stop being my friend I will probably never know.
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