Y’all up around Abilene or Amarillo? Texas was last into the “recession,” and has been hit the most lightly by it. Unemployment is running about two-thirds of the national average, which doesn’t mean things are great, just not as bad as elsewhere.

I have a basic rule: if I can’t eat it, repair something with it, read it, or protect myself in one of many ways with it, I don’t buy it. True wealth is having what you want and not being obliged to do things you do not want to do. I’m fortunate because MDC and I do NOT want what so many think are indispensible. We don’t own a Blackberry, an iPod, or a country club membership. We don’t eat fast food–although we can really recommend Sodalak’s Beef Master steak house in Bryan, and the Piano Bar in tiny Rockdale. We do not lead lives devoted to consumerism. Our lives revolve around each other, the ranch, the good Lord, and reading and writing. Our idea of really big fun is thinking of a project and being able to do it ourselves, usually with materials we have on hand. We can’t imagine anything dumber than purchasing a new pickup that costs thirty or forty thousand dollars when Texas is full of great old trucks for $1500 to $2000. Shucks, we’ve got half a dozen of the things, only two of which ever leave the place. The others all have specific uses, including the repo truck and the bucket truck which paid for itself completely getting the tree that fell on the house of the roof. That’s part of what you were getting at, being able to solve our problems ourselves. When Ike hit us last year we used that as our preparedness test, and we’re very proud of the results. Ike took off the roof of the wellhouse and a bunch from the automotive/carpentry/weldiing shop, and knocked out the power lines to those and the barn…and managed to drown one exceptionally dumb chicken who kept gawking at the sky. (You don’t want to know what the goats said about being put in a maritime shipping container. It wasn’t at all civil! They thought they should have been allowed in the house.) Charles is an electrical engineer and he had all the wiring replaced (and upgraded) in less than 24 hours and he and the Foreman had the roofs repaired. We didn’t stand around waiting for a government to declare us a disaster and come help! I had candles in every room, made five gallons of tea, filled the bathtubs and additional jugs, and all the sensible precautions, and we had a generator in a sheltered spot ready to go. THAT is what amuses us: silly me! We should have put a generator by the well, too. THAT was what we lost power to. In retrospect it was obvious. We had plenty of everything including firewood in the house and a cheery fire…but the important part is to be prepared for everything short of nuclear war.

It sounds as though you have the same sort of ideas, and hurrah for you. Everybody knows I’m a Doom & Gloom type, and when catastrophe strikes more and more it is going to be up to individuals to keep themselves safe and clean up the messes.

Hope you won.

Linda

Yep! In my neck of the Panhandle, we, too, eat well at home between trips to the steakhouse!

Not needing stuff that isn’t needed is economic disaster–except for… home economics!

Gotta go: big pocket pair!!!

Tonight we feasted on Eggs Benedict, and everything came from the ranch except the English muffins– and we could have made those, too, if we’d had a mind to, as we say in our quaint native patois. That makes three days in a row five people ate lavishly and all we had that was “store boughten” was the muffins and black olives.

It’s hard on the bottom line and lower-end jobs, but if we all just went on a binge of “If I don’t need it or I can make it myself,” there could be some real excitement. Tax revenues are already down 17% and it will be quite interesting to see what a desperate government will do… Truly, thank you very much for writing Steverino. I know I’m not “hollerin’ down a well,” but it is so GOOD to get responses. Have you checked out http://www.thetexasring.com, yet? W&G quality stuff, y’know, but Gary does have just a few others who write for him!

Cordially, Linda

Is your book still available? Tell us more about what you foresaw? Did your husband find a better thing to do with his skills, I hope?

The only ones I see “recovering” are those getting an influx of fiat currency from their cronies, and that is good only the first couple of times it changes hands. If you would like to discuss these things one-on-one, leave me a message over on http://www.thetexasring.com and I’ll get back to you promptly. I hope to hear from you further.

Linda

Your nautical description is surely right on, though. The only thing you didn’t describe perfectly is the senior officers lavishly provisioning the lifeboat and guarding it against the crew.
Best-
EP