My Blood Pressure is Rising

The current economic crisis and upcoming election have created the perfect storm for my blood pressure. And, as I have said in the past, my B.S. meter goes off right about my big toe. These days, it seems to go off 10 yards away from me.

In the past 20 years of my life, I have learned time and time again that forces of mother nature and forces of human nature are powerful, and bad stuff; really bad stuff can happen.

Come to think of it, my first wake up call came even earlier at the age of 6 when my hamster Ekeem ate his hamster roommate Baskerville. My older brother Matt let me know when I came home from school, and I just didn't believe him - I mean, they were rodent buddies. Matt showed me into my room, and sure enough, there Baskerville lay - a dead, half eaten hamster in its cage.

Fast forward to Black Monday in the late 80s when the stock market crash hit our New York suburban town like an ice cream shortage at a 4 year old's birthday. Wealth was very relative for many of the families in our town, but the overall pall cast that day on New York city and the surrounding areas lasted like a leaded weight on everyone's spirit and confidence for the next couple of years.

But, that day paled in comparison to the bombing of the World Trade Center the first time, which was like a blip on the map to 9-11.

I was in NYC for 9-11, and the culmination of my major and minor life experiences leading up to that day taught me one unforgettable lesson: Don't get too comfortable because life is bound to get dirty and hard, and the timing won't be great either.

This is not to say I don't enjoy every day to the fullest. I actually enjoy every day even more so because of my experiences, good and bad. But, lately, I have riled at the people around me who say, "it won't happen," or "everything is going to be fine." Sure, everything is going to be fine in the grand scheme of the great moving ball we live on, but what about what we can do right now?

This upcoming election is the most important of my life so far, and maybe for my lifetime. So, please keep your thoughts to yourself if you feel the urge to say things like, "Obama doesn't look like a guy I can hang out with," or "Sarah Palin is hot."

Please don't share your opinion if you think that capitalism, right now, will just correct itself on its own, and "what's wrong with a little sacrifice." Or my personal favorite, "I wish we could have the Reagan years back." (Because I might reach out and try to shake the sense into you.)

Nothing is wrong with sacrifice, but the people who are suggesting this to me haven't faced a larger sacrifice in their life other than having to buy single ply toilet paper or skipping out on new shoes this month from Cole Hahn. Note to the readers out there, if you are asking for more sacrifice, you have no idea what it really entails. I challenge you to stop filling up your car for 2 weeks and see how far you get. Because that is what some Americans are having to do right now. And, I assure you, they aren't the Americans with great savings accounts, mutual funds or a salaried job.

So, if you just don't care and you just don't think it can happen to us, keep your thoughts to yourself because you are an island. That I fear is becoming more and more the size of the United States.