query very slow but table very small

Hi,

I have a table containing 8 rows. The records are around 2k max.
selects on this table take very long to complete:
This is not a table that had a lot of adds/deletes, and I
have run vacuum and analyze.

tium=# select count(*) from trunk;
  count
-------
      8
(1 row)

(Takes about 2 seconds)

The database is lightly loaded otherwise, but I don't understand
the explain output:

tium=# explain select count(*) from trunk;
                           QUERY PLAN
---------------------------------------------------------------
  Aggregate  (cost=65598.10..65598.11 rows=1 width=0)
    ->  Seq Scan on trunk  (cost=0.00..65598.08 rows=8 width=0)
(2 rows)

What does it mean that the cost figures are so high?

This is a standard run-of-the-mill server by the way with 1GB RAM,
I have shared buffers set to 12000.

Thanks,
Ron

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