It's a flaw. The first thing I do in the morning, as I descend into the living space that we call "The Great Room", I click the TV remote...the BBC, CNBC and Bloomberg get my waking attention. It's 6:15...fifteen minutes until the opening bell. I find a place to pee and in route, turn on a pot of tea. I want to give up the business channel "habit", does it matter what these high finance cheerleaders think?
I am the proprietor of a small sports store...what does it all mean to me? I'm looking for indicators, I take it one day at a time. Stocks up, gold down, the Euro stays the same...should these be barometers for my mood each day? I think not. The coffee habit satisfied, I let the dog out and hear birds chirping, even singing.
Opening bell features a group of false-faced humans clapping their flippers together behind a commercial podium...performing a ritual celebration of Capitalism that is designed to boost optimism during another day of money-changing in well-lit buildings and in front of millions of computer screens worldwide. What's shocking is, the whole charade is a pyramid scheme...and they often admit that it is...a sacrificial lamb is periodically nailed and sent to prison, just so you know that there are rules and regulations and that the gov't is doing it's "job".
An hour into this nonsense...and by now I've been to The Weather Channel, MLB Network and CNN....I notice the dog, begging for a long walk and a morning treat. We hike up a quiet mountain road near our house and never fail to run into neighbors doing the same. Our politics are different but our dogs get along well with each other, so we talk about raccoons, the weather and mountain lion sightings. Discussing what the President is up to, the Constitution or even the Stock Market is never a good idea.
As a "mom and pop" business owner, I get a lot of sympathy from my neighbors...even as they tell me about the great "score" they recently made on Craig's List or at Sierra Trading Post during a recent visit to the big city...and by the way, "Would you mind taking a look it (bicycle, ski or snowshoe) to make sure it's set up right and safe?"
There really is no solution to this bad economy, it will not be piece-mealed back to a healthy state. The bubble is going to have to burst before "local" becomes priceless all over again. America is riding a big wave, a record wave...not something that we can gracefully "kick-out" of....the drum roll is getting faster and louder, wipeout! is how the song ends.
