Charlotte
I didn’t know which title to pick for this post. I had many to choose from: Self-Delusion, Denial, Economy, etc.
I rarely read news, watch television, or listen to commercial radio, so lots of times, I’m out of the loop, which is just fine by me. However, I have been ingesting a bit of news on a daily basis, with regards to our new president. I must say that I was very impressed with his first bold moves to shut down secret CIA prisons, stopping torture, etc. I like it!
The other day, right after his inauguration, I remember thinking that this was former president Bush’s first good night of sleep since 9/11/2001, and the first of many sleepless nights for president Obama. The pressure is on to ‘fix’ the economy … throw money at the problem.
I’ve been through a few recessions during my working career. The last major one came at the end of 2001, when the Internet bubble burst. Though, honestly, I believe that that recession, even though bad, paled in comparison to this one. This one hit us in the foundation … where the money lives. Spending is down, credit is tight. It’s tough for weak businesses to survive in that market.
Certainly, this has affected our family, as it has many others. I lost my job with Bank of America in June of this year. I finally, as you know, took a job in Charleston, SC. 200 miles from home. Initially, I believed that it would be for only 3 months, until things got better. I remember when I got my employee badge. It had an expiration date of August 3, 2009. I scoffed, internally, thinking that I won’t have to renew it because I’ll be home by then. I’m about to sign a 6-month lease with my apartment. Things are not getting better in Charlotte. As a matter of fact, as more and more numbers are released, we see that things are actually getting worse. I will have to renew that badge!
Since the buy-out of Wachovia by Wells Fargo, we don’t know if my wife will get to keep her job. Fortunately, Wells-Fargo is a slow mover, deliberate planner, and a very conservative bank. They were one of the few that didn’t have problems in this banking crises. We’ll see …
I’ve now experienced the end of summer in Charleston, the complete autumn, the beginning and middle of winter, heading towards the spring and summer. I’m still displaced. I’m still “Doing what is necessary.”. I hope that, in some small way, this is a lesson to my children to cast of the attitude that children sometimes get, of doing only what they want to do. Sometimes, we have to do what we have to do .. that which is necessary.
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8 Responses to “Doing what is necessary”
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You’re doing what many men did during the Great Depression. I think this time in our history is going to rebuild us stronger in many ways. And we need that right now. We’ve lost our way. I hope we set good examples for our children and grandchildren.
@Micki: Thanks. It’s sad that the situation is so very similar to the great depression. I was doing some reading about that and things are very similar. Failing businesses, very tight credit, loss of jobs.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to come back soon, but I doubt it. I’ll just make the best of it, though.
I think most people do what is necessary. It is nice to think that you can do what you want to but that is rarely a practical reality. I was raised by depression era parents to do what is necessary and we live pretty much that way to this day.
The adage “If you love what you do you will never work a day in your life.” is a nice idea but a rare one to achieve.
We have endured tougher times before and will face them again and again as I am convinced that no matter what, it is cyclical. We have had 11 recessions since the great depression. This will definitely not be the last. The highest unemployment was more than 23% in 1932 and in 1940 it was still over 14%. It took a drastic dive to 1.2% the lowest ever in 1944. It spiked higher as soldiers returned from wars…WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, as you would expect.
We see many peeks and valleys and it will rise and fall again and again. The highest unemployment rate in my lifetime was 9.7% in 1982 and if I remember right mortgage rates were as high as 21% in those days. I never dreamed I would ever own a home in those days. A few short years later mortgage rates were around 8% and I could afford a mortgage and a down payment.
I knew the housing bubble would burst when houses in my neighborhood started selling for ridiculous amounts over a half million dollars an up. There was no way that was realistic. A tiny 2 or 3 bedroom cape on a 60×150 lot for a half million? No way!! But that was the going rate…I knew it was artificially inflated and could see this coming. My house never should have been worth more than $300,000 much less $700,000…that was insane!
I admire what you are doing – and can only imagine the difficulty. I work with quite a few people from Germany that actually spend the week in Germany, and then commute back to another country on the weekends. Where the jobs are and where the family wants or needs to be don’t always match up. I suppose I am fortunate in that respect for now…
@Mark: I would hope that no one would have to do this, but I can be thankful that I have a job. There are a lot of people, and more every day, who don’t have jobs. This, compared to not having a job, is a minor inconvenience!
Being away from your family is disorienting and lonely and I am amazed that you seem to keep your spirits as high as you do. I identify with Laurie’s remarks as she remembered past recessions and over-inflated home prices. That’s one advantage of my age—I have been through several of these now. I remember vividly those mortgage rates over 20%, compounded by down payment minimums beyond your wildest dreams in the early 80′s, not to mention the hours spent sitting in your car waiting in those long snaking lines for a tank of gasoline in the 70′s. Even though this time around the situation is pretty scary, the unemployment rate at the end of 2008 still wasn’t as bad as it was in 1994. I suppose we all have to hope that this one doesn’t exceed the normal lifespan of a recession.
In the meantime, your resolve to make your situation work is an inpiration to others who are making unexpected and unpleasant adjustments.
Paul, … I do know quite a bit what you are going through, … and admire you for it.
It was 5 weeks after my wife and I were married when the company that I worked for shut down in South Carolina.
They offered me work down in Florida, and I took it since the job market was not much in our area.
I did this for 8 months, coming home on the weekends.
We both called it our “gut check”, and for good reason, … especially for newly weds!
Hang in there buddy.
I’ve met you, and I can tell what kind of man you are.
You will be fine!
Michael
@Michael: That would be a gut-check! 5 weeks into your marriage. Wow! Well, this didn’t come until 17 years in, thankfully. We did live/work apart when we first moved to Charlotte. She had a job in Dallas, with American Airlines, and kept it for several months after we move. I spent the whole first summer in Charlotte, only seeing her on the weekends. It was tough.