The rise and fall of an American Dream

Once upon a time there was a man, the man started his own business, this business grew to be an empire. He had seen his father do, but he wanted to try doing it from scratch, not wanting to ride on anyone else's coat tails. He was a visionary, he had a dream, an American Dream, he was a very fair man who well rewarded the people who helped his visions grow, and he enjoyed the people as his Camelot grew, synergy at work amongst them you could almost grasp it with your hands. Prosperity and Comaradie walked together for good many years, thriving and constantly growing to be more, unti some very evil investor men on Wall Street and equally evil men from our own Federal Reserve brought an entire nation to it's knees, everything grinding to a halt. Banks failed Companies closed Layoffs of unthinkable magnitudes An entire housing market collapse, and with it a multiple of tradesmen, ground to the same halt. As our own prized media advertised on the nightly news "home value depreciation", repeating for months that turned into years, oh yes indeedy they did depreciate to the point of obscene. Jobless masses became foreclosed homeowners, became homeless. Starting over, scratch, zippo, where they'd been as young newlyweds. Others would use every sent of savings or retirement funds they had to stay slightly above the water line. Banks were bailed out, no questions asked. This would enable them to help people with loans, consumer loans, commercial loans. Not so much helping with loans, they did however totally modernize their robotic machines, computer programs, and now you could bank by phone- no easy feat to accomplish but they survive strong & steady. However, the banks did not want to lend money to the people needing help the most. So instead they turned into the most collective homeowner there ever was, holding so much real estate in foreclosed homes, that if they can simply wait out this fiasco called a recession, they will have a very tidy profit in their greedy little hands, profits made off the collaspe of the American Dream. The man with the vision was rocked as well, vast quantities of land and homes given back, given back to who? The banks. He and his remaining people survived to a point by revamping foreclosed homes for the banks, until they could begin to buy homes at auction to resell as some demand came back into the market. And they were sucessful at this. And slowly they were able to re-hire some of the talent that had earlier been laid off, and for this we kindly thank them for their expressed loyalties. He also started a blog a few years back, writing various articles about the slow signs seen of the housing market recovery, some from a businessowners eyes, some from a consumers eyes, but all of his writings contain a very human element in them, they gave us hope, hope that better days would come, hope that we could stay employed long enough to reach a retirement age that is so close we can taste it, and as he gave us hope, we were able to gain some ground back, making 50% less yet supporting a home that demanded 50% more, can deplete the soul a bit, but this mans blog kept us thinking Camelot was damaged, but might after all with time and patience be restored to a doable condition. Maybe it all had too much impact, or maybe there are things we don't know about, the man's vision of an American Dream comes to an end for himself, his employees, countless contractors who work alongside on so many projects, he closes the company soon and yes it will carry it's own impact to many, including the man as I don't believe for minute he wanted to close this particular chapter of his life's work. Aside from my own boss who is the very best of people, this man of vision was also one of the finest employers you could ever want, his belief in the American Dream will continue on through the echoe's of what he started so long ago, as his own Dad had done, and slowly America will continue to repair, especially if we become of a sounder mind than what is presently representing the people, the fragmentation that exists presently impedes progress. Many thanks for the hopes, and dreams, and all the good adventures along the way.

Universal checks and balances, the woman, the child & the shadow

"When was the last time, you ever saw the sunrise?" Overcast and snowing seriously, they say we might get two feet of snow, not the most wonderful news for a womans body who already got jacked up this week, and has groaned in it's sleep the past two night, last night dreaming about MRI's, long story short I took a good fall face down onto our icey parking lot at work, 10 years there with three good falls, black ice on asphalt is treacherous, and not always discernable, I had tested the terrain as I got out the truck but as I walked behind my own vehicle went down fast and hard went the woman holding her prized orange juice cup trying to break the fall with her left hand yet bouncing on her sternum, boobs, shoulders, whatever, cussing as she tried to get up only to have all fours go out again, seeing a car coming and hoping I wouldn't slide like I did last time, driver slows and continues on, pissed because people are now afraid to help another human, pissed because it ruined a good shower & shampooing, orange turned to hair mouise, hell of a way to start my favorite work day, Friday. Now the soreness has set in, and though I smile and laugh it off, everything still hurts. The soon to be 59 years old tires of the reindeer games. The bones are not what they used to be, now are they? Snow shoveling, as we move into Christmas week, far less romantic than what is was some 35 years back:) And still the child sees glimpses of Christmases past, the woman inside sees the present season cherishing the same people she cherishes all other seasons, through times she's learned there are limited things she can control. Does she still pray? Why, yes all of the time. Does she still pray to baby Jesus, grown Jesus, and his Father God? Sometimes she does, does she pray to a very large universe that holds all of her people, beloved creatures both animal and insect alike, a universe that brings her four seasons she loves equally, yes I suppose she prays to the universe quite a bit, mostly for universal balance. As her shadows world passes by her eyes, sometimes she sees thing that other miss, she never understood why, sometimes her senses are far too keen, to the point that she's barely present in this world, just for a moment or two she strays way out there taking a moment to put a thought out there for all of mankind, and for her own kind men, of balance at the very least. So we still go into Christmas week with love in our heart, expanded religions, thinking of our large families, and individual battles being fought, and praying that we all enjoy the quality of what more days will bring to us. Love, and time.

Thankful most of the time

"When was the last time, you ever saw the sunrise?" I looked out this morning just as the sky began to pinken, brings warmth to my soul just to see the beauty of it giving us all a new slate, a day fresh for us to draw upon. Thanksgiving week brought a wide varierity of things: A boss who gives me two days off as holiday, the day before thanksgiving is my own Dad's 95th birthday if he'd been here, I talk to him and tell him he would have most likely hated being 95. I receive an email from my younger cousin that her sister who has been ill the last few months compliments of diabetes, heart problems, and a dialysis program which she never took to at all, has passed. Thanksgiving is usually spent with my spousal unit and his Dad lovingly as his Dad goes for treatment, my spouse knowing I'd see the family the next day on their holiday celebration infers I can't come with which leaves me with best and highest use of time, my brother who had invited us to his home but without pressures, is where I will head for. Sometimes for me with half my original core family gone, I do love my husbands family, yet sometimes I have missed my own sorely, different humors, different souls, time passes for all and waits for absolutely no one, so I went to see a much loved nephew, yes the one I love to toture and play with Auntie Style, and I was able to spend some time talking with my brother and his wife, and see her family as well. Drove back at sunset to see my spousal unit and feed him our bad cookings version of beef stew for Thankgiving, lol. The next day we hear to the city for the other celebration, most of the family is able to be together for this holiday, only a few are missing due to other plans made long time back, but we do have some fun for ourselves, and it is nice having time to make some new memories, all the while people know we're lucky to have the folks here for yet another year, health systems not perfect, but they work, so we are laughing instead of crying, much to be thankful for all year not just one particular day. My spousal unit and I leave, I need to get home to get my truck and head to my cousins wake, spousal unit stays on expressway and rescues me big time by driving me to the wake, he probably half knows I would have gotten badly lost if on my own, I hate wakes so knowing he is near me gives me the courage to walk in the door, he waits outside but it is close enough to get me through this. Ma called him my white knight, and yes he still is. Little lion man walks in and goes to the front, I say my best prayer for her religion and for my universal portal, and after, I slowly greet my cousins and second cousins known to me, one who knows me well doesn't recognize me due to my silver hair and probably her own grief, I tell her it's Chicky a nickname my dad gave me as a baby that stuck with my closest cousins, she takes me to see her sister who looks up blankly from her own thoughts and sees me and come back to life and we hug and sob together, I talk a bit with her son Frankie who has the MS and incideous disease if ever there was one, the Irish have long been known for their tears, and it keeps on going. I am finally able to say I will need to go, my kind Rick is out waiting for me, saying all kinds of goodbyes I find my knight, and we drive home keen on our destination. Yesterday I spent in my own home, and in my own town, and last night with my own immediate family, some amusement had making pizzas, I prepared the first half of the ingredients and home made dough, and my son takes over as it's time to roll out the dough he is tempermental in his creations, which makes his mother, the daughter of laughing Irene (Ma always laughed when it was getting out of control), laughing as he got pissed off at the dough sticking. Still we had some fun. Being Thankful is not a one day stint, I think most of us know that, I believe the holiday just serves to pull family back together for a time whereby we acknowledge how lucky we are. The old "Is the cup half empty or half full?", the real answer always was: "the cup always has something in it".