Fly-by

Wake-up, Wright brothers!

Some nap costs you nothing.

Others a lot.

Passengers and crew didn’t notice the flight (NW to MN last week) take much longer than scheduled?

Are we there yet? No teenagers on board? No one anxiously inquired at the counter (“Hey I am tired of holding up the sign” says the limo driver)?

Anyhow, on my next flight, I would set my alarm (manual watch, since they asked if you would kindly turn off your cell) just to give myself a sense of time passing.

Like when you are running on Empty, you need a light indicator to signal your need to find the nearest gas station.

Or when your stomach sends the signals to your brain for you to stop eating (sugar, fat and salt).

Leading indicators in the economy say the Recession is nearing the end.

Lagging indicators say the opposite, especially for 10% of the workforce (or 13% in CA, 15% in MI).

V or W recovery,  make up your mind!

They say Halloween is one of the top 5 money-spending holidays.

Near where I live, there is a Hollywood costume store, whose revenue in a few weeks makes up for the entire year.

Seasonal retail, like fireworks stalls or Christmas trees.

Everyone seems to be on the fence about the upcoming year-end sales. Will consumer spending (70% of GDP) pull us out of the trapping?

Or many will give up looking (not realize that even when the Empty light is on, one can still drive many more miles before it’s actually empty: hence, leading indicator-perception gap-lagging indicator).

We have a lot of brain reserve to be put to use. Unless, the social engineers (FED) wanted it that way, thus playing God.

Seeing people patiently wait for their H1N1 shots, I realize how strong our will to live (survival instinct) is.

(one out of ten people in line is probably out of the job anyway, thus having time to be in line all day).

People can’t seem to see further than what the headlights are showing them. By now, we should be on our way to the third stage of grief: negotiating. Like back in the 72-73 time frame, when OPEC embargo was in full swing, many drivers were on Empty: how about we get out and push the vehicle together, or revert to old-fashioned hiking? For the past year and a half, I wonder what conversation has been taken shape in the Amish community. Perhaps the same as before: they have never participated in the hype of Wall Street or indulged in the excess of Main Street. Their Empty indicator is when the horses huff and puff, and finally slow down in need of a drink.

Teen-age runaways are on the rise due to the economic downturn. People on the fringe seem to take the hardest hit (like old people who died during the heat waves). A cut back here and there created a ripple effect. Meanwhile, those with jobs are holding on tight, like about-to-be-displaced old tribal men atop the totem pole, even if it means doing a double or triple shift at the hospital or airport.

As to those guys on the fly-by flight. Normally nightmare ends when you wake up. In this case, it’s the reverse.

Some nap costs you more than others.