decision algorithms

to awaken before the dawn and spend an arm and a leg taking a cab in the wee hours to meet your father at the airport coming in from his trans-atlantic flight, or to await a more pragmatic hour and meet him at the hotel, at a considerably less painful pinch to your (limited, military-sized) wallet? 

i cannot begin to tell you how proud i am of your choice, i tell my son. that's mushy, he says. that, too.