Almostgotit.com

Creative Commons Image: Wally G

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

- John Donne

Many of us are now learning, the hard way, that we need to save more and spend less.

Many businesses are closing because we no longer bring them enough patronage.

This is the enormous dilemma at the heart of the current recession: the more careful consumers become, the deeper the recession grows.

If I stop buying books or groceries from my favorite shops, my favorite shops may go out of business, which diminishes me too. If I stop going to restaurants, they may not be able to offer entry-level jobs to my children.

If I stop supporting my local charities, they may not be there when someone I love – or even I myself – may need them, too.

No man is an island. When working out your own recession budget, don’t forget those businesses, services, and even charities that you hold most dear.

Many thanks to Emily Anderson for the suggestion.

Very few of us will do the right thing, economically, unless we have to do it.

Doing the right thing because we have to do it still can be a positive experience.

Both Republicans (situationally) and Democrats (legislatively) believe in forcing people to do the right thing.

Republicans and Democrats take turns being right — and catastrophically wrong.

Maybe there are few definitive solutions at all.

Maybe there are more solutions than we can imagine.

Maybe most of us are getting poorer.

Maybe that doesn’t matter as much as we think it does.

Maybe we can’t make money doing the things that we love.

Maybe that will break our hearts.

Or maybe that will force us to discover how to love what we do, instead.

Maybe we’ll do everything right and still  fail.

Maybe we’ll make one mistake after another and turn out just fine.

Maybe life eventually will confound us all.

Hallelujah and pass the pillow, it’s true.  We have a spanking new queen-sized mattress (with a new foundation to boot.) 

Our cancelled Tunisia plane ticket money has come through (mostly.  I am not, currently, a fan of Air France) which paid for the mattress.  And a new computer for our college-bound son. 

Who is moving into his dorm *early* as it turns out.  So I won’t have time to make him a giant flannel board, after all.

 My daughter started back to school today, leaving Almostgotit with an empty house all day again, and what to do next, she wonders?  (the local porn shop adult book store has a “help wanted” sign out front.  How much do you dare me?)

And here’s a little ethical dilemma.  My son has honored me by “friending” me on his Facebook profile, which means I can also read what he and all his other friends are saying to each other.  My policy is to be (almost) invisible, because I get much more information that way, of course!!  However, one of my son’s very active Facebook friends is the daughter of a friend of mine who has forbidden her daughter to use Facebook.   I’m not inclined to play the informer here, both because it would violate my son’s trust and because I think this girl’s parents need to make it their own responsibility to better engage, support, and monitor their daughter.  Besides, it’s only Facebook:   I mean, I would tell them if she were smoking pot.  What do you think, readers?

From: The Almostgotits
Sent: Sun 7/20/2008
Subject: Tunisia plans

Dear Everyone,
After long and careful thought, we are sad to tell you that we will not be travelling to Africa next week for the traditional Tunisian wedding of our nephew after all. Mr. Almostgotit will still be there to represent our family, however, and hopes to change the return portion of his ticket so that he can stay for the final event, too (my mistake, getting the dates wrong when I bought the tickets .) We are planning another trip west to see you all in the near future, though.
Warmest wishes to all, The Almostgotits

From: Everyone
Sent: Sun, 20 Jul 2008
Subject: RE: Tunisia plans

Dear Almostgotits,
- We hope everything is OK. - We were so looking forward to the time together. - Will you get a refund?  – We are sure your family knows best. - We hope it’s not anything we did.  - 11 yr old Cousin Q will be devastated. I guess there isn’t a way that 12 yr old could fly over with us and return with her father?
Love, Everyone

From: The Almostgotits
Sent: Sun, 20 Jul 2008
Subject: RE: Tunisia plans

Dear Everyone,
We’re sad, too. But going to Tunisia this particular summer was a big stretch to begin with, even if everything had gone according to plan. And things haven’t gone according to plan . ..<<details, more details>>. . . Sorry again re 12 yr old, but, we’ve already cancelled her ticket too — that one pays for the new mattress.
Love, The Almostgotits

From: Everyone
Sent: Mon, 21 Jul 2008
Subject: RE: Tunisia plans

Dear Almostgotits,
We had a restless night. We’re a bit concerned. We want to reach out to help, but we also don’t want to intrude . . . we could pay for the three of you to go to Tunisia if you could.  If you need to stay home because of work, we could pay for 12 yr old and an adult to fly with her to Cincinnati to connect with us . . . You can simply tell us “no” if you don’t feel comfortable.  You have always been so generous to us when we come to visit and we are thankful to have such a good family.
Love, Everyone

From: The Almostgotits
Sent: Mon, 21 Jul 2008
Subject: RE: Tunisia plans

Dear Everyone,
What a kind and loving offer. Thank you so much. If there weren’t so many good reasons piling up to change our minds, we wouldn’t have changed them (as I’ve told the groom separately, our heads finally had to prevail over our hearts, though our hearts are still very much his — and yours.) We want to be sure you all know we love you, and that we are not in any distress (financial or otherwise)  But we must decline your offer, while fully accepting the great love and generosity with which it was offered. What dears you are. (Or elk, if you prefer!!)

With large hugs, The Almostgotit Mooses

From: Ms. Almostgotit
Sent: Mon, 21 Jul 2008
Subject: RE: Tunisia plans

You better tell them the rest, honey. They’re your family.

From: Mr. Almostgotit
Sent: Mon, 21 Jul 2008
Subject: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Tunisia

After still more thought, I (Mr. A) have decided to call off my Paris-Tunisia trip as well, and will stay here with my family.  I really wanted to be with you all for this wonderful celebration, and I’m very sorry to miss it.  We are doing well–just a little frayed around the edges, and being here, we decided, is where we need to be right now.  We love you all and are going to be thinking about you all in Kasr al-Halal drinking tea with mint and strong coffee.  Take lots of pictures for us!  See you at Christmas.

Love, Mr. Almostgotit

Ann at Compensation Force mentions a number of articles today that highlight the impact of rising fuel prices on employment relations, with particular focus on how much employers can do, or should do, to mitigate the effect of these costs for their employees.  The most provocative question these days seems to be, ‘What happens when gasoline reaches $7 per gallon?’

Answer:  we’ll deal with it.  Both because we can, and because we’ll have to.   Ultimately, though, we can’t just leave matters to our employers, or to the government either. 

Nor will it hurt nearly as much as we think.

Eventually, we each have to come to terms with our own appetites, or learn how to change them.  One has only to live for a while in any country but ours to see the changes that very high fuel prices have already wrought.   We were amazed at how quickly we adapted in both England and Canada – two countries very like our own, but which have been living with high fuel costs for years.

Revelations: Everyone, even old ladies, can ride bicycles!  Bicycles work with dresses, and even when it rains (fenders, plastic bags, and general good cheer are the secret)!  Buses aren’t just for poor or crazy people!  Finding a parking place can take just as long as walking to a bus stop! Life without a car payment (or insurance payments, or repair bills, or gas charges either) is quite a marvelous thing!  Walking to and from a job is a wonderful way to clear the head, think things through,  and watch the seasons change!  Commuting without also having to drive is a great time to read, catch up on work, or just people watch!

Ours is a country built for the automobile, with subdivisions to go along with our SUV’s.  We need to build more livable cities so people will choose to live in them.  More of us should try to live where we work.  It’s good to live where we shop, too.  We need to build sidewalks again. 

Public transport must be part of the solution, of course, and yes it usually requires public subsidies.  However,  many Americans don’t realize we’ve already been subsidizing private and commercial transport for years – massive amounts of public funds have built and maintained our highways rather than our buses and trains, though the latter are a much more efficient way of transporting both goods and people.  And of course we have enjoyed artificially-low gasoline costs for years as well, also thanks to heavy subsidies.  A ready supply of cheap fuel has contributed to our preference for ever-larger vehicles, a preference which has persisted thus far even in the face of rising fuel costs.  (read this!)

Sigh.  We are yet a young and stubborn people.  

Fortunately, we are also a resilient people.  We will manage higher fuel costs, and we will manage even better if each of us carries our own bit of the load. 

Creative Commons image by iirraa