It's The D Word, Use It!

Kudos to you, my dear friend...

Blessings and best wishes - S.

Thanks, Svetlana,
Blessings to you as well. I read some wonderful things you wrote the other night :)

Marilyn

Excellent! Your poetic thrust of what is reality is like a smooth blade into the complacency of the human being who has yet to feel the sting of the loss of everything. YES, we are right on the edge of a full blown DEPRESSION.

very good getting to the heart of the situation

So very true. I can't believe that there are some who don't see it and pretend that everything is fine. There are so many empty buildings all over the place, how can anyone miss it. I have never seen so many stores and businesses closed permanently in my life.

Marilyn,
No truer words have been penned since the Great D. WTG.

True, all of you and neither have I, Heather. The foreclosure's we're seeing just here in little Connecticut, which by the way is among the worst (for being in shape) top ten in the USA, is awful. I cringe everytime I see yet another empty business, home or anything with that dreaded "Foreclosure Auction" sign up!

We tried to go to an out-of-the-way favorite restaurant this weekend only to find it was gone. And the one next to it too. Just crappy chain eateries we can't eat at. Walmart shut down its eyeglass factory here - 650 out of work in an instant with no warning! Walmart is taking the jobs to Mexico. That should be considered an un-American activity right now.

Free trade, the mantra of the elite, as in it's inevitable, and the only way, is a line of crap. We need trade restrictions, especially on American Corporations that have offshored our jobs. They should pay double, till they bring them back home. All "free trade" has done since NAFTA, is put us on the same footing as someone that can live on two dollars a week, in some third world country. If they want access to the largest consumer market in the world, then produce your product here, is what I think. Any other course is madness, and a sure way to the end of the American dream. Great write, Marilyn. It is the D word, it's just going to have to cycle through before the powers that be will admit it. We need to get mad, and get tariffs back in place, period.

I'm in total agreement with you, Ron! TOTAL.

EM JAY - The one place we ate at, and it was inexpensive, which was why we could eat out once in a blue moon, was the Grill, which went under the other day, after over 35 years here. I want to cry and avert my head whenever we pass by it.

I read your piece on that, Marilyn. Very sad. Several are struggling here, I think. At some point, all we're going to have is the giant chains, I think. And they suck, of course.

I've been saying depression for months. I call it as I see it.

thanks for sharing..

NICE

Hi marilyn

Hi Donna, all,
I'm glad that you people have the brains to see what's going on all around us, as you've got your eyes open and get it - you see the empty places that we had gotten used to; and you're not afraid to say so. Unlike what they want us to believe on the news.

dropping in to say hi ;) miss you all

This is well said and conjures up many thoughts and images.

As a minor critique: You wrote, 'Jobs have gone to other countrys.' I sort of forward read sometimes and I read, 'Jobs have gone to foreign lands.' Just my opinion for an edit.

very true, and clear imagery!

So far, Canada has not suffered as badly as we hear you guys to the south are. We are in a recession, to be sure, and there is pain here, but from what I hear of place like Detroit, we are in much bettr shape than that.

I also live in an isolated and economically depressed rural area where, I am told, people didn't really notice the effects of the Great Depression because "we were poor before, poor during and poor after". So far there has not been a great impact on our community which is growing with new construction and plans for a major revitalization going forward.

My son is living down in the Big City of Toronto, unemployed despite his newly minted university degree, unable to even get a job interview. So I know there is pain out there.

This is not going to be easy to get out of and it is not going to be quick.

Good literary treatment of a bad time.

You said it, Marilyn. The signs are everywhere and I'm wondering why some keep their eyes tightly shut - they too will be effected.
We are in this for the long haul and there will be another wave coming. I'm speaking of investments and lenders - there will be a second hit when some of the papers are due.

Ron made a good point, we need to re-think how we trade. On the other hand China ain't happy either, the US papers and other investments they made in the good ole USA aren't as good an investment as they thought.

If we tick them off and they want their money back that they loaned to us - will we be like a third world or latin american country - unable to pay back our debts?

Rose,
I've been wondering that as well. We've borrowed so much from China, it also brings up the fact that they could well think that they have a bit more 'say' in what happens and how it does. Borrowing too much, from a Communist country, no less, can backfire on us at anytime.

William,
I like your words better than mine (no surprise there!), and will do an edit when I get back later, or tomorrow. Depends on how things are going when I'm back from caring for my Aunt w/alzheimers - some days are so much worse than others. I wouldn't trade one minute of them though...

Rory,
It's hard when you're worrying about a daughter, son, (child/grown, but still yours) and can do nothing to really help. Our son's been just missing the lay-offs where he works - Aetna Insurance, which isn't actually publishing their lay-offs, unless they're huge, but the day-to-week ones largely go unnoticed, unless you've one who works for them. Other than that; it doesn't even make the local papers.

Thank you, Lisa.

Hi Tiffany, will be back later. Or tomorrow.

Marilyn

It IS a depression, especially in Michigan.

Luckily, most of Matt's customers are in other states and countries where the economy isn't QUITE so bad as here. So far, we've been lucky.

I also have a hard time believing we have hit bottom, like some have been saying recently. Great post Marilyn!

Depression of economy spills over into depression type thoughts. Hopefully, you will have days with your aunt where her words warms both of your hearts.
Although this is not mentioned much, most, including your aunt, picks up on facial and body language cues unconsciously within their internalized interactive social culture. This is really hard to understand because it can't be helped to show and feel sorrow.

i like to think of it as
recess
now come on
let's play