Bread, Salad and Circuses

It's 50 degrees out and I can hear the wind in the trees through the open window. I sit here with hot pepperoni bread fresh out of the oven and a salad on the side. My son walks out in the kitchen, "Poverty supper. Bread and salad." he grabs half a loaf and a salad and goes back to his computer. Poverty? This is a meal fit for kings. At least kings with good taste.

Polly, the youngest tabby, waits hopefully for spilled pepperoni--or bread--she loves both. Since when does it take an 8 course meal to fill our stomachs? Most of the world subsists on rice and gruel or whatever is at hand. The average American would not survive on the diet most of the world lives on.

Though, if our politicians keep ignoring things, we may end up a third world country yet. Somehow, I keep comparing today's economy with that of the 20's. Bush and Paulson declaring that the economy is "fundamentally sound" sounds too much like Hoover's "prosperity is just around the corner." The economy may be fundamentally sound for the 1% at the top, but for too many it is faltering. So, what to do? Like the old song, "No more money in the bank. What to do about it, let's put out the lights and go to sleep."

Things may be bad in this country and true the economy is terrible slanted but it's no time to run for the hills. Yet. People in our "advanced society" have forgotten how to endure the inevitable bad times. Long ago, people observed how animals in the wild endured storms and fires and droughts. Have you ever noticed how the deer disappear when a blizzard is about to pounce? You will find them hunkered down in deep brush, waiting the storm out. And that may be our only option for the storm that is beginning to break all around us.

Some may prefer to run, heading for Belize or Morocco, thinking that simpler places will be easier--even without cable and McDonald's. But for me, running is not an option. I'm no hero.
I'm just a scaredy cat old lady who has been getting increasingly nervous about this country since the Bushies have taken over. But my family is here in this great big misbegotten country. Add to that, I'd have to figure out how to transport a herd of cats across long miles and difficult borders.

So, I'm trying to figure out how best to hunker down all the while knowing that in truth there is nowhere to run to. The only thing to do is continue screaming at the politicians in hopes that somebody somewhere wakes up and barring that, find deep brush.

sign of the times

Outside of the For Lease signs hanging everywhere on a whole batch of real estate projects that had so hopefully sprung up in the last 6 months here in town I noticed a curious transition last night on the way in to work that may set the stage for a change in our local economy..

An old house had fronted for the last two years as an EBay reseller business--with the theory that you bring your treasures in, they sell them immediately and you pocket the cash minus a fee. But Ebay isn't what it used to be--selling items now is a chancey thing--only about thirty percent of the listings actually becomes a sale. Too many people trying to unload too many things. Grandma's Depression glass isn't necessarily money in the bank anymore. Seems like the whole economy is like that. Too many sellers, too many goods. Not enough buyers. Scary. The last time we had a situation like that was in the 1930's. Is thus a sign of the times?

Back to the Ebay reseller. A few weeks ago, the sign was taken down and a "For Rent" sign went up. Last night, the sign had been replaced. With a neon ad for "Psychic Readings". Does this mean that we're running so scared and so distrustful of our illustrious government that we need to have the advice of a tea leaf reader?

On the other hand, maybe the swami's advice beats Bernanke and Bush.

Much news, all bad

I was feeling rather well this morning until I turned on the news. Murder, mayhem, the whole economy is collapsing and the world in general is going to hell in a handbasket

That's what is so reassuring about reading history. Reassuring and depressing at the same time.

Depressing in that mankind has not made one iota of progress in the time he has spent on this planet. Oh sure, technically we are far advanced ffrom caveman days. But technology isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Technology just means bigger and better bombs. More innovative ways of amassing great fortunes at the top of the heap.

What of civility? Whatever happened to looking out for the other guy? What happened to "it takes a village?"

Not only do we not know how to look out for each other and respect the other guy's point of view (no matter how screwy his thinking). But we don't seem to realize that we aren't the owners of this ball of mud--we are only the stewards (renters). Maybe, that's the problem. We're just sitting back and waiting for the super to take care of the leaky toilet and the broken window. Maybe God should give us ownership. Maybe we would take better care of things.