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August 15, 2007
scattered thoughts on the economy and stuff
Laura and I spent a Tuesday in San Francisco on our drive across the country. In spring 2001 we walked from store to store in the middle of the work day afternoon, threading through young and well-dressed crowds. The bubble had burst, showering severance cash on laid-off dot commers who had nothing to do but spend it. So they shopped.
That winter, I met Susan and a friend of hers in Manhattan. We made a pilgrimage to the grave of the World Trade Center. Like many of Susan's classmates from Rice, this friend left college with a well-paying job at Enron. He wasn't working there anymore when he came to Manhattan. He wasn't working anywhere. Lots of people weren't.
I got a crappy job in Portland, it paid the bills. I guess I was lucky. It didn't feel that way. I mailed close to a hundred resumes in 2001 and early 2002. I couldn't get an interview anywhere. I met Ben, who one day got fed up with his boss and quit. He thought he'd be in demand. It took him six months to earn his next pay check.
Now there's all kinds of wailing about another recession. Global stock exchanges bounce up and down, mostly down. Home prices have plummeted in some places, and new construction is stalled nearly everywhere. Borrowing is more expensive and more difficult than anyone remembers. Mortgages are in default. Lenders teeter on the verge of bankruptcy. Central banks, when they act, are timid and ineffective.
Eventually age will mean sore joints, trifocals, a fuzzier mind, brittle bones and a fight against my waistline. The journey through my 20s, however, has left me with the warning signs of wrinkles, a steadier mind, a stronger career, cash in the bank, two cats and a husband, a handful of hobbies, and a city I love. I don't think we ever really know we were going through a recession until we've been in it for a while, but if that's what is happening now I'm finally ready to face it. I wasn't ready six years ago. It's hubristic of me, I know, but I'm not worried about the future at all.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at August 15, 2007 10:30 PM
Comments
Reading this made me feel so happy in the midst of my recent gloom. Every year as my birthday approaches and summer fades, I get to feeling this way, and this year I have more reason for it than other years. But just look at the bright spots, how two young people can really pull themselves into secure prosperity, and have fun doing it, despite the war and terrorism, and nervous financial markets. I remember Ben's grandfather on his father's side expressing this sentiment when he was only a little older than I am today. For we oldsters, it is delightfully cheering to hear the sturdy optimism of youth. Thanks again for writing your blog. I always love it, and sometimes it positively brings a lump to my throat.
Posted by: Sue at August 17, 2007 02:55 PM