It's a beautiful, sunny day in Braddock in Pittsburgh.  I'm thinking of leaving school earlier than usual.  I usually stay until 3:30 pm but it's such a lovely day.  I could drop in at Hemingway's in Oakland to talk to Heather behind the bar and to have a couple of $1.50 big beers.  I have to build up my courage to call Sallie Mae and tell them I can't make my student loan payments yet.  Once someone told me if your student loans are in default the government will take your social security check.  I hope that's not true.  What a bummer if it is.

I have two new disposable razors at home.  I'm saving them for Thursday when United Healthcare will be here for the jobfair.  As usual I'll shave my face and head.

Call me Mr. Clean.

GHH

Is the act of sexual congress funny, or what? In, out, repeat if necessary, goes an old joke. All lifeforms are at a very vulnerable state when engaging in procreational activities. The very act of creating new life often ends it for the creators. Flowers die, prey animals often are so distracted that they end up on the value menu, predators, at great peril, continually have to fight for dominance and even the lowly amoeba, when dividing, can expose itself to danger. All life pays a price. Of course there are exceptions to this vulnerability. My soon-to-be ex-wife, for example, could tell me the ceiling needed painting while engaged in sex. No vulnerabilty there, huh?

Humans are no exception. Why do we pay such a dear price for sex. Many studies have been done on the subject and, guess what? It feels good, dammit. Yeah, sometimes we do it to start a family but, I wonder how eager we would be if the sex act were painful instead of providing pleasure? I can just hear it now; "God, what an awful night. The wife and I want to start a family but, I just didn't realize what a toll it would take on me to engage in sex!"

The sex drive is one of the strongest forces on earth. Humans give up safety, money, position, relationships and many other advantages for a thirty second orgasm. Tell me God has no sense of humor!

Yeah, it's true. Men have nipples too.

Tom Vickers

My girlfriend raises, trains and boards horses. A little time around horses and one realizes that civilization was literaly built on their back and why this partnership is so important to modern man. Even Hollywood was built on the back of a horse.

I came into this relationship ignorant of the wonder and mystique of these wonderful creatures. I didn't know a wither from a hock, a star from a blaze or a filly from a mare. I do, however, know a little bit about people. This post is really not about horses. Actually it kinda' is in that it's about a horse's ass.

Toby was a 28-year old Saddle Bred. He came to be boarded about a month ago. Toby was in very poor condition and no amount of TLC could bring him back to vigor. This horse was in the latter stages of his earthly existance. Toby had changed the direction of a young man's life, maybe even saving it. Toby's owner, heretofore known as the Horse's Ass, even admitted that Toby had "saved" her son. A four-legged angel was Toby.

Yesterday morning Toby went down to the ground and could not get himself up. No amount of coaxing, tugging or lifting would bring him back on all fours. The owner and a Vet was called and it took the owner several hours to make a thirty minute drive to the farm. Only the owner could make the decision to ease Toby's earthly burden. He was in pain so, pain medicine was administered and the waiting begain. We comforted him as best we could.

When the owner and Vet showed up a decision was made to ease Toby out of this world. I assisted the Vet while my sweetie spoke to Toby in Cherokee fashion. The owner stood in a separate field and watched. She didn't comfort her son's savior nor, did she excuse herself from the task. I would have understood if she couldn't witness the event. I would have understood if she had comforted the horse. It's the in-between stance I dont get. She stood where the horse could notice her. It would be like pulling the plug on Auntie Sally. If you can't bear to watch, that's OK. If you need to be beside her and hold her hand, that's OK. For God's sake don't stand in the doorway and do neither. Lead, follow or get out of the way please!

Some people have difficult horses. Some horses have difficult people.

Tom Vickers

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United Healthcare will hold a jobfair at the computer school on Thursday so I have to make sure the suit and tie I'll wear is presentable.  The person who will be there did tell my job developer that my resume had been flagged and my application pulled.  So Thursday the person from United Healthcare will get to see me in the flesh.  I want to make a good impression.  I found out that I can get to their building by public transportation.

It's a good thing I'm better at writing flash fiction than I am at organizing my life and finances. 

GHH

In an ill-spent youth, I used to hang out a lot in bars and taverns. One of these was Ma'Ha's Short Snorter. Ma'Ha's was not your mahogany-paneled, brass-railed, Manhatten Ice Tea type of establishment. Ma'Ha's was a red-eye whiskey, Stroh's Bohemian Style Beer kinda' place. Cheers it was not, nor, did it wish to be. It was one of those places where "everybody forgot your name", assuming they knew it in the first place. It was very entertaining, though. It was like belonging to a "Fight of the Night" club. But, I met some very interesting people there and, that's the subject of this post.

One of those folks was Sally. Sally was a Caterer by trade. She "catered" to the sexual desires of all who had the itch and the jingle with which to scratch. I met her when she sidled up to me at the bar and said, "Mister, for fifty dollars I'll do anything you want"! So, I asked her to paint my house. She threw back her head and laughed, filling Ma'Ha's  with that rich, whisky-stained voice. She allowed as how she'd never been asked to do anything quite that kinky but, maybe I'd buy her a drink while she thought it over. I did. She declined.

Sally had lost her left leg in an automobile accident and wasn't the least bit self-conscious about it. It never seemed to hurt her trade either. This was one happy hooker. I got to know Sally (not as a customer) and she makes my top 25 list of people to admire. She accepted life as it was presented to her. Was her choice of occupation unfortunate? I don't know. All cultures put value on a woman's sexuality. We seem to get queasy, though, when that value is expressed in money. She was not the "whore with a heart of gold", she was just another person providing for her family. Quite well, thank you.

God bless you, Sally.

Tom Vickers

HELLO GENTLE READERS,

Any of you guys raised on guilt? My parents were survivors of The Great Depression, WWII and the Cold War. How many times did I hear, "Tom, you didn't finish your green peas. Children in Asia are starving!" My offering to airmail green peas to Asia was not met with much amusement, but I often overestimated their sense of humor. "Tom, you can't use that old shirt as a rag. Somebody can still get good use out of it," I've heard a time or two. Yes, healthy or not, I do respond to feelings of guilt.

My old Ford Pick-Up was just about eligible for Social Security, so I recently bought a new vehicle. It's a GMC Envoy with the Denali package: V-8, 4x4, heated leather seats, wood dashboard, adjustable pedals, power everything, Bose sound system and came complete with a combined 15 MPG EPA rating. I know, I know! It's an expensive truck and gas prices are outrageous, fossil fuels in limited supply and the planet is reportedly heating up. What in the hell are you thinking, Tom? I can hear Mom now, "You could have bought four Dodge Neons for the same price and saved over $1,200.00 a year in gas!"

I no longer argue with my Mom. She's 85 years old, and as far as I'm concerned, she is allowed to speak her mind. She's earned that right. The thing is, I no longer have to argue with her. I can carry both sides of the arguement in my own head.

I bought a GMC Denali! By God, I'm going to enjoy it! Uh, sorry Mom. I really didn't mean that. Ok, Ok. I'll pray for forgiveness!

Can you keep a secret? It's a really cool machine, but don't tell my Mom.

Tom Vickers

I can't think of anything else to write so here are some random thoughts and quotes:

1. Income tax forms are the greatest fiction being written today! (Herman  Wouk)
2. The trouble with winning the rat race is that even the winner is a rat! (Lily Tomlin)
3. It is my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtures! (Abraham Lincoln)
4. If you want a place in the sun, be willing to put up with a few blisters! (Abigal Van Buren)
5. If you are reluctant to ask the way, you will soon be lost! (Malay Proverb)
6. Propaganda is the art of persuading others what you don't believe yourself! (Abba Eban)
7. Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor! (Truman Capote)
8. Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example! (Mark Twain)
9. Trust in God, but tie your camel! (Persian Proverb)
10. Some folks think they are thinking when they are only rearranging their prejudices! (Anonymous)
11. You have freedom when you're easy in your harness! (Robert Frost)
12. Think twice before you think, especially if you're going to say what you think! (Anonymous)

I hope you have enjoyed this hodgepodge. Feel free to comment, add to the list or complain about my lazy writing.

Tom Vickers

We are said to be truly doing good when we do not notice we are doing so. When we forget about ourselves, and live for the interests of others. Is this so? I'm not sure. The prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of animals, asks us to, "To love rather than be loved. For it is by self-forgetting that one finds". I'm not sure I totally buy this concept though, perhaps I'm just not as spiritually aware as I could be. I tend to believe that the reward for doing good is the positive emotion I feel when I do so. Almost a "Pavlov's dog" reaction, if you like. Nevertheless, I believe that doing for others, regardless of the motive, makes for a better life and a better world.

Often I've heard people ask, "why is there evil in the world?" Is evil an entity unto itself? Is there such a thing as "pure evil"? I don't know. Perhaps evil comes within us. I know that many believe that evil exists outside of human thought and behavior; such as Satan, the boogeymen and a host of supposedly bad entities. Maybe they're right. I happen to think, for the most part, that evil exists in the human heart. It, like goodness, is probably a choice we make.

People often, when angry, depressed or irritated, revel in their state. It reminds me of a person sitting on a horse galloping down a steep hill; instead of trying to stop the horse, he lets go the reins and whips the horse to make it go faster. When evil gets on a roll, it grows. The inverse is also true. When "good" gets momentum it accelerates.

In any event, I can only live in this very moment. Time, outside of this instant, does not exist. In this very moment in which I'm living, I will choose "good"! How about you?

Tom Vickers

HELLO GENTLE READERS,

The Talmud says, "If one word is worth a coin, then silence is worth two. If silence sits well with those who are clever, then it should sit even better with those who are stupid". Nothing supports idleness so much as empty talk. Two things can reveal faulty thinking: to be silent when you should speak, or to speak when you should be silent. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "I can be silent and be thought a fool, or I can open my mouth and remove all doubt". Count Leo Tolstoy advises us, "Words are great things. You can unite people, or separate them. You can create love or animosity". Both great loves and great wars are created by words. In an arguement, truth is almost always the loser.

I rarely get in trouble by keeping my mouth shut. I often do by speaking.

Tom Vickers

HELLO GENTLE READERS,

I grew up in a household where we went to church almost every Sunday. My dad was the Sunday School teacher for the adult class at our local Methodist Church. We were not Holy-Rollers or hard-core "believe as I do or you'll go to Hell" folks. It's just what people did on Sundays.

At the age of twelve or so, I started having serious doubts about what I was hearing on Sundays. Why would a God who loved me so much ever allow me to go to Hell? Why would God even allow a place of eternal damnation to exist? Why would God give mankind "free will" then place a "Tree of Knowledge" in the Garden as a temptation? If this knowledge was so dangerous, then why expose mankind to it? God made sure that Adam had dominion over the carniverous animals. The lions didn't eat him, did they? It seems very inconsistant to me. My experience with people is that, something denied becomes very attractive. Tell me I can't do something and I'll be more than a little tempted to do it.

I just don't understand this God at all. Being omnipetent, he should have forseen the consequences of HIS actions. Religious people always answer that, "God has a plan!" I think a little better planning is in order.

Tom Vickers

HELLO GENTLE READERS,

A wise man was once asked, "What is the most important moment in a person's life?" He answered, "The present moment, because you are master of your life only in the present!" St. Francis of Assisi tells us that our actions in this particular moment belong to us. What will become of them belongs to God.

The Talmud says, "You are a day laborer. You should work every day, and be paid every day."

Obviously, I must plan for the future. That's why I have a refrigerator. I don't want to spend a part of every day at the grocery store. Obviously, I must deal with the past. That's why I have voice mail. But, the amount of time I have wasted on the past and the future staggers me. These are moments forever lost. Children are masters of "the moment". They, like dogs, live only for the here and now.

If I take stock of this very moment in time, I have everything I need. Apparently, I always have, else, I wouldn't be here.

My well-spent moments today are my happy yesterdays and happy tomorrows!

Tom Vickers

HELLO GENTLE READERS,

Of wealth and poverty, which is the greater burden? Count Leo Tolstoy wrote, "Enormous wealth is a sin, because for every rich person there are hundreds in poverty". Jesus said, "It is harder for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle than to enter the Kingdom of God". He also said, "How you treat the least of these, you treat me also".

I have spent periods of my life in both conditions. With much more than I needed and with less than enough. I am now somewhere in between. Money makes for convenience but, I can honestly say that my level of happiness was not really much different in each of these conditions. In Sub-Saharan Africa, many people live on less than $500.00 U.S. per year. They still live their lives, raise children, laugh and cry just as T. Boone Pickins or Bill Gates do. It is reported that they don't spend much time thinking about money. The average American's thoughts are dominated by either money or sex. This is not my opinion but, a reported study.

I try to help others, on a small scale, with my money but, I'm not sure it is because of my morals or intention of altruism. More likely, it is my feelings of guilt. Charity can be helpful, useless or even harmful but, never moral. The very need for charity in itself shows us the immoral existance of human suffering of which I can never separate myself.

Jean-Jacques wrote, "The selfishness of rich people is not as cruel as their lack of compassion".

Tom Vickers

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The first point of courtesy must be the truth." If my friends and family won't tell me the truth, who will? If asked what I think, can I tell the truth without fear of hurting their feelings or fear of hurting the relationship? Do I risk living a lie, or do I seek clarity and honest communication in my relationships? Can I really believe that witholding the truth to protect someone's feelings is doing them, or me, any favor? No!

Excessive consideration which slays the truth is inconsiderate.

Tom Vickers

If United Healthcare decides to give me an interview I don't know if I can get to the place by public transportation.  I noticed some companies don't give their street address on their websites.  And since it's Sunday there's no one for me to phone.  I'm going to try to Google the company.  All I know is that the company has an office in Pittsburgh.

I like the way The Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette is finally set up now.  There are only three Categories: Article, Flash Fiction and Life.  I can pour everything I know into those three Categories.

The Steelers play at eight tonight.  I won't be able to watch the entire game since I have to get up early tomorrow for computer school.  The school is my only source of income and I'm expecting the Director to say any day is my last day.

I need a job.

I'm proud that I got my MFA in 2006 at the age of 59 but it hasn't benefited me much.  Of course if I would have been smart and applied for a state civil service job while I was still in school I'd be sitting pretty now.  Instead, I let my ego get the best of me and convinced myself I could make money as an online blogger.

So now I have one foot on homelessness and the other on a bannana peel.

The moral of this story is...

GHH

In my first post I spoke about the importance of finding and USING your voice to either effect a change in or at least contribute to the American dialog.  Peggy Noonan's new book "Partiotic Grace" is an excellent example of what I'm talking about.

“Patriotic Grace” is filled with moving accounts of personal sacrifice, civic leadership, and insightful political and cultural critique that can only come from someone with a wealth of experience in the world (and the willingness to learn from it).

Part One opens with an intimate and powerful debunking of the myth that the “Greatest Generation” is somehow in the past, never to be seen again. It is a stirring defense of the hard work, sacrifice, and incredible everyday heroism of the Baby Boomers (a generation to which my own parents belong, a generation which, until now, I had never really given much credit or thought...)

Noonan also asks us to recognize our own current heroism and hard work in difficult and sometimes tragic personal and national circumstances.  She  declares that current generations of people should take pride in their accomplishments whether as parents, preachers, politicians, teachers, civil servants, doctors, soldiers, or any of a host of roles that call on the best aspects of Americans.

What follows in Part Two is what the author calls “a brief and mostly political attempt to come to grips with the Bush era.” In fact this notion of coming to grips with politics and culture is a recurring theme throughout the section and one which helps reveal the often overlooked trauma our national psyche battles with daily.  From partisan rancor to economic and security concerns, we are a nation in distress.  9/11 of course plays an integral role in framing this section of the book but Noonan manages to use it in service of her broader message without it coming off as cheap and formulaic as it so often does in our politics and media.

By the end of the section she has also presented a number of insightful observations about the current generation of youth, my generation—

“They have been shaken by the world since 9/11, and we don’t understand how rocked they’ve been. They’ve internalized it; they never talk about it. But: They are not always sure they have a future…They are something new in America, an entire generation that does not assume their lives will be even better than their parents’.”

“They are…used to living other worlds in their heads, for many worlds have, in a lifetime of videos, CD’s and downloads, been implanted there…So they are not always in the moment, not fully aware of their surroundings…”

Within some of her statements I found the first accurate formulation of the dis-ease that spurs me to write for this blog, to debate politics with anyone that will listen, and to search for a way to contribute more meaningfully to this country through my work and personal life:

“I think a lot of people are carrying around in their heads, unarticulated and even in some cases, unnoticed, a sense that…in some deep and fundamental way things have broken down and can’t be fixed or won’t be fixed anytime soon.”

“I mean I believe there’s a general and amorphous sense that things are broken and tough history is coming.”

By Part Three the author has built a strong foundation for her appeal to change American culture, to reorient our relationships with and sense of duty to one another. It is a call for a political culture that matches the challenges of the world as it is today: rife with conflict, complexity, and uncertainty. Interestingly she devotes a fair amount of time to pointing out the immense expectations we place on politicians (who after all are just normal people like you and I).  Why is it that we balk at their failings when we expect them to have an answer for everything no matter how scientific, philosophical, complex or obscure the matter?

[caption id="attachment_185" align="aligncenter" width="397" caption="I know I left my talking points in here somewhere..."][/caption]

Ultimately her plea for mature, responsible, and well-tempered leadership along with a culture of peace and preparedness is nothing if not timely.  For Noonan it is not a question of IF we are faced with tragedy again but WHEN. Her criticism of the lack of focus on this by both McCain and Obama  as well as the media is salient and worth heeding when discussing the candidates' relative merits.  Why aren't we asking candidates how they would prepare for and handle a crisis like 9/11?  How will we as a nation, under a newly elected leader move forward as a strong, responsible, and intelligent leader of the world?

Despite any political differences I may have with her as a conservative, I could not agree more wholeheartedly that cultural unity, civil defense, and thoughtful leadership will be key in preparing our best defense against what awaits this country in its uncertain and seemingly ominous future.

I consider this a must read for any thoughtful citizen.  I think the vast majority of readers will find it both inspiring and provocative regardless of their political affiliation.

Buy it here or pick it up at your local book store.  It'll be a hell of a lot better than spending your money on this.

In the meantime I'm seriously thinking about putting in for early Social Security.  I'll be 62 this month.  Whatever happens I must not lose my apartment.

After computer school today I stopped in at Hemingway's in Oakland for a couple of cheap beers.  Donna, one of the owners, was there and one of the new bartenders was behind the bar.  I didn't know the bartender's name but she seemed to be a very nice young woman.  I've been drinking at Hemingway's over thirty years now.  The jukebox is one of those touch screen affairs but they don't turn it on until 3:00 pm and I was there at 1:15 and left before 3:00 pm.  On Fridays computer school lets out at noon.

GHH

Qualifying for a HECM product is very easy and you only need to meet a few criteria. You need to be 62 years of age or older, use your primary residence, keep the property up to code, keep the taxes and insurance up to date and the Loan to Value of the property ( this determines how much you can get)...and that's it.  No credit scores, payment histories, other assets or bank accounts are ever needed to qualify.  You can even be in foreclosure and still get a Reverse Mortgage as long as you meet the qualifications stated above.

In general, HECM's are used for so many purposes.  Such as, a source of income other than Social Security, or using the money to subsidize their Social Security or a Pension that's not paying enough.  Or, money to pay additional doctor bills that aren't covered by Medicare.  Seniors have also used the money to take well deserved vacations that they normally couldn't afford to take before they retired.  They can also use the money for needed home repairs.  How about money for a rainy day or sudden emergency or gifting for college for their grandchildren.  The needs are endless and the beauty is you never have to pay it back for as long as you live or live in the primary residence.

Before HUD made changes to this type of loan, The Reverse name was synonymous with "bad loan"...but not anymore.  For ten years now, after HUD made so many changes to finally protect the Seniors, the HECM loan has been growing in the market as one of the best things to happen for Seniors.  In fact Wells Fargo has sold over 400,000 Reverse Mortgage loans in the past ten years and growing at an alarming rate. Some of the advantages a Reverse Mortgage are as follows:

1. You never lose the house to the bank

2. You never lose Title

3. You never can borrow more than the home is worth

4. Use the money for any reason

5. The money is NOT taxed

6. Your heirs are never responcible (non-recourse) for paying back the bank after your death

7. Never make any payments for the rest of your life

8. Pay off existing liens and/or debts

9. Use the money to buy a 2nd home

10. Repair your home and never make a payment

11. and much much more...

Here's another thought...  Let's say a baby-boomer is just turning 62.  Instead of applying for Social Security payments, he/she can apply for a HECM loan to subsidize his/her income.  Wait until they're 65 or even 67 before applying for Social Security and reap the benefits of getting a larger payment at the later age from the government.  The HECM can also save you from taking from your investments to help subsidize income.  Plus there's no taxes with a HECM loan.  Or...how about applying the HECM to purchase a 2nd home and probably pay cash (depending on how much you qualify for) and still NOT have any payments for the rest of your life...pretty terrific.

So that's it for now...I'll be adding more in the coming days and weeks so stay tuned.  Please let me know what you think about my post or ask me for a Reverse Mortgage Guide that I can send you.

I stopped at Nico's at Pearl and Friendship and had a couple of big glasses of Pepsi and ice.  No beer until the gout is totally gone.  No more salt or tomato sauce in my diet, either.  Not being able to walk is the pits.  Especially if you live alone. 

V, my favorite bartender, was behind the bar.  She'll only be bartending now every other Saturday since she got a better job.  She's the one who several years ago talked me into going back to school to get my BA.  I went on to get my MFA, too.  Now I'm an educated bum. 

Well, I should be able to go back to Computer School on Monday.  I wonder what they're going to do with me, now.  They gave me an extension thinking that I'd have a civil service job by now; but since the hiring freeze all bets are off.  The school is my only source of income.  I'm working with a job developing at the school on two other job leads.  I needed to find something with promise like yesterday.

Pitt beat the Orangemen.  Penn State is on the TV now and I'm blogging and drinking root beer.

GHH

I had a talk about community marketing with two friends of mine and was amazed to see that three people that are only 10 years apart from each other can have such a different perception of the Internet and its potential. Demographics: John, 20, student & musician; Stephen, 39, full-time musician; me, 30, marketer & musician. Stephen grew up without Internet and was not exposed to Internet marketing until he turned 30. John grew up with the Internet and knows how to navigate and use every angle of the net. I started my electronics technician apprenticeship in 1994 with the Internet in its baby shoes, and when I was done with my studies in 1998, the Internet was omnipresent and I already had made good money with my very first online business.  

What also struck me was that Stephen doesn’t want to be exposed as a private person on the Internet—he is a popular musician in Switzerland—but understands that it is important to promote his band on the worldwide web. John, on the other hand, finds it very important to follow his friends on Facebook and keep them posted on what’s going on in his life. He also writes a blog but doesn’t feed his readers that much. John rather reads blogs. And, that is where my generation comes into the pictures—the MTV Generation, a neologism for Generation X, referring to people born from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s. Kyle Lacy writes in his blog entry Is Generation X the Blog Generation? „Many of the individuals I follow on FriendFreed, Twitter, and through Google Reader are over 30. Is micro-blogging/twitter/sms more of a communication medium rather than blogging for the millennial generation?“ Lorraine Ball comments on Kyle’s entry, „[W]hen did they start blogging? Were they in their 20’s? Good blogging requires a consistent effort. Is it that younger folks don’t blog now because of time, distractions, shorter attention span (that may or may not improve with age) or is it that they truly never will?“

According to eMarketer.com, ‘a BIGresearch study found that the average age of adult bloggers [in the USA] is actually 37.6.’ As Kyle stated, the people he follows are over 30. The same is true for me. Authors 30+ write most blogs I read on a regular basis, even though I have recently become a regular reader of blogs written by Gen Yers like Sarah Austin, Katie Rogers, and Greg Rollett. Nonetheless, my favorite blogs are still written by Seth Godin, Chris Anderson, and Garr Reynolds—young Baby Boomers.

David Wilson, author of social-media-optimization.com, wrote in his August 11, 2008, blog entry, „Consumers between 18 and 42 are driving the technology revolution and agenda today,“ which, I think, is still hard to handle, because there is a very big difference in how Gen Yers and Gen Xers use the online world. In Gen Y Is Setting the Tech Agenda, a BusinessWeek.com article, Charles Golvin, principal analyst at Forrester Research said the key distinction between Generation X and Y is that Generation X uses technology when it supports a “lifestyle need” whereas tech is “embedded into everything Gen Yers do” making them the first “native online population”.

However, Gen Yers still rely on input of older bloggers, since older bloggers are more experienced and blog more frequently. One day, Gen Yers will be the experienced bloggers passing on their knowledge to the next generation—Generation Z. Until then, my peers and I will keep blogging, sharing what we know and have to say, and motivate younger generations of bloggers to be persistent with their blogs.

And never forget: “You are what you share.”

The Talmud says, "If one word is worth a coin, then silence is worth two. If silence sets well with those who are clever, then it should sit even better with those who are stupid". Nothing supports idleness so much as empty talk. Two things can reveal faulty thinking: to be silent when you need to speak, or to speak when you should be silent. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "I can be silent and be thought a fool, or speak and remove all doubt"! Count Leo Tolstoy advises us, "Words are great things. You can unite people or sepatate them. You can create love or animosity". Both great loves and great wars are by-products of words. The truth is almost always lost during an arguement.

I rarely get in touble by keeping my mouth shut. I often do so by speaking.

tom vickers

L'économie va mal aux États-Unis et on est pas au milieu du commencement.

Bush dans son discours n'a rien dit pour me convaince du contraire de mes prédictions suivantes.

Autrement dit, attachez vos tuques avec de la broche, vous n'avez encore rien vu.

Le Dow Jones s'en va sous la barre des 9 000 points d'ici neuf mois.

L'or va péter le 1 300$ l'once avant l'été prochain.

Le Nasdaq risque de couler sous les 1 300 points durant la même période.

Le troisième trimestre 2008 pour une bonne majorité d'entreprise sera assez difficile.  Les annonces des résultats de ce trimestre commenceront dès la mi-octobre.

Le quatrième trimestre des entreprises américaines sera catastrophique.  Les ventes aux détails seront dégueulasse en novembre lors du Black Friday et également durant les fêtes.  Les gens vont moins voyager et évidemment ils vont moins consommer dans les restaurants. 

W. m'a convaincu que mes prédictions sont très optimistes, conservatrices et que ça pourrait être bien pire que ce que je vous annonce.

God Bless America ont été les derniers mots que W. a employé dans son discours.

Ça va prendre plus qu'une bénédiction de Dieu pour renverser cette crise économique dont je vous rappelle va traverser a frontière sous peu.

Aveuglement imbéciles ceux qui croient le contraire.

De plus il est fort probable que durant les neuf prochains mois que General Motors et sa dette de 38 milliards tombe au combat.  Ford ne va pas beaucoup mieux avec sa dette de 166 milliards (vous avez bien lu).  General Electric pourrait avoir de sérieux problèmes aussi avec sa colossale dette, tenez-vous bien, de 350 milliards.  C'est 23,7 milliards que GE a payé en intérêt sur sa dette en 2007.  American Express possède 57 milliards de dette.

À peu près toutes les sociétés américaines surendettées pourraient tomber au combat lors des neuf prochains mois. 

J'ai fais le calcul, oui je sais je suis un peu fou... les 30 composantes du Dow Jones ont pour 1 886 milliards de dettes.  En fait 29 composantes ont ces dettes seul Microsoft n'en a pas à son dernier bilan. 

Imaginez 1 886 000 000 000 $ de dettes pour 29 compagnies seulement.

Au moment d'écrire ces lignes, W. a terminé son discours et le cours de l'once d'or a remonté vers le haut sur les marchés asiatiques.  Signe que le plan de W. d'endetter les USA de 700 milliards pour "sauver" le système financier... c'est de la marde!

j'ai la vague impression que bien des avions vont retourner dans le désert faute de voyageurs et que le cocooning américain va se développer à la vitesse grand V au cours des deux ou trois prochaines années.

L'Amérique récolte ce qu'elle a semé depuis des années, surtout depuis que les Baby Boomers ont passé le cap de la cinquantaine.  C'est à dire la surconsommation et le surendettement avec l'acquisition d'un paquet de biens surévalués à commencer par de nombreuses maisons, des immeubles, une deuxième automobile pour ne nommer que cela.  Je vous le dis le prix des maisons risquent de retomber sous les prix de l'an 2000.

Ha vous ne me croyez pas.  Attendez vous verrez!

Ça ne prend pas la tête à Papineau pour comprendre que lorsque le bungalow moyen se vend à plus de 12 fois le salaire moyen d'un individu dans une ville comme Montréal, y'a de gros problèmes qui s'en viennent.

Ce qui m'inquiète ici c'est que les grandes banques ont pour la plupart beaucoup de succursales aux États-Unis et y possèdent plusieurs investissemments.  Aussi ces grandes banques ont 10 fois moins de contribuables qu'au États-Unis pour les supporter avec un plan à la con que le gouvernement canadien pourrait être tenter d'imiter de nos voisins du sud en cas de problèmes majeures.

Heureusement pour l'investisseur aguérri il n'y a pas de quoi paniquer.  Tournez-vous vers les actions de compagnies aurifères ou des compagnies avec le moins de dettes possible et qui offre des produits de masse. 

Chose certaine W. m'a convaincu ce soir que plusieurs petits investisseurs vont fuire la bourse et que les gros se demandent comment ils feront pour annoncer les piètres rendements aux détenteurs de nombreux fonds mutuels et de cotisants aux caisses de retraites.

Avec son discours ce soir, W. a comme lancé officiellement la grande débâcle économique qui va régner sur l'Amérique au cours des prochaines années.