I went on a road trip the other weekend. Now, there’s nothing I like better than a road trip—the feeling of moving forward—the strange food in little known restaurants—the different landscapes—different demographics—the radio stations—the shops, the groceries, the dives. It’s addicting, this seeing how other people live, seeing what they think is ‘necessary’ to them, and what level of ‘necessary’ is required.
This trip was to Key West. For those of you who haven’t been, it’s definitely a destination you should put on your list. But it’s not the destination of Key West, that final point at the end of the continental U.S with the galleries and restaurants and Mallory Pier at sunset, that is important. It’s the journey getting there. And what happens to you on that journey.
The first Key in line is Key Largo. It still has many of the amenities you’d find near Miami proper. But it is also full of dive shops and dive charters that serve those who want to experience some of the best diving and snorkeling opportunities in the nation. It is here that you will begin to feel like the mainland is far behind. Your tidy home, your serious job, is behind you--somewhere. You will begin to get sun-streaked and wind-blown, and all those things you thought were so important to worry about suddenly don’t seem very important at all.
The next key you hit on your drive is Islamorada, home of many of the famous Keys fish tournaments. The entire key is all about fishing, boating, diving, and water sports. Though there are plenty of comforts in Islamorada, they are all outdoor-centered. The turquoise waters of the Keys will be your home for the rest of your visit. Even if you aren’t an avid fisherman, you will still become a creature of the water. Lying on beaches, photographing the water and boats, watching the sea birds. You may come off the water—shower—change—go to a nice restaurant—visit a shop or gallery--but the conversation is all about what was done on the water, or what will be done tomorrow on the water.
Marathon is your next city on the road to Key West. It is the last big city you will see for a while, so if you need to provision your trip, do it Marathon. Marathon has an airport, charters, resorts, restaurants—everything to make you comfortable. But even here, it’s all about the water. Getting back on the water--information about the water—the weather—the fishing—the diving.
By the time you get on 7-Mile Bridge on Big Pine Key just south of Marathon, you will have made the transformation. You don’t dress up anymore. A tee shirt and shorts—usually over your swimsuit—is your uniform. You don’t comb your hair anymore. You don’t wear make-up. There doesn’t seem to be a point to these things anymore. People aren’t looking at you, they aren’t judging you, and they aren’t comparing you. They are thinking about the water. Where to swim. The best fishing spot. What boat rental to go to. Where to grab a sandwich to bring on board. Sunscreen will be tucked into your pocket. A rumpled hat will be on your head. You keep a tight hold on your sunglasses. That’s all that seems important.
By the time you reach Key West, it’s like another country. You have made the break with the mainland, not only physically, but emotionally. You have surrendered to a hedonism of the most primitive kind. You roll into town, surprised and blinking at the bustle and crowds of tourists. You reluctantly consent to town life—only temporarily—waiting to get back to the waterlife that has became a part of you. You visit the galleries and bars, you sit in waterfront restaurants eating fine food. You see the nightly show at Mallory Pier. You visit the shops and buy fudge and souvenirs and tee shirts. But your heart is back on the water. And you find every possible excuse to get back to it.
And if you have any sense at all, you will follow your heart.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Whatever Happened To Small Business?
It’s funny, we’re not hearing a thing about how small business is doing in this dire economy. It’s as if small business—which was often described as ‘the engine for new jobs in our economy’—has suddenly dropped off the radar. And I suspect it is because small businesses are disappearing at a horrifying rate that they don’t want to tell us about.
You would think media would cover this all-important area of our economy, but the media is curiously silent. Media can go on endlessly about the dangers of swine flu, giving us more coverage than we’re ever going to need on that subject. Media can cover Nancy Pelosi’s feud with the CIA and the Republican Party for days on end, covering every little detail, every nuance, every conjecture—but not the state of small business in America. Media can give us all the latest poop (and I do mean poop) on Brangelina, Madonna’s adoption case, and Jon and Kate Plus Eight’s marital difficulties—but they can’t tell us how small business, the incubator of new jobs in our country, is doing.
What’s that about?
One can guess how small business is doing in the U.S. Consumers have rolled back their spending. Credit is tight or can’t be gotten at all—which means small business cannot get it to cover payrolls or material for upcoming jobs. Small business can’t get orders from larger companies either, because large industries have slowed down to a stop as well. Small business can’t do any hiring, because A) there’s no work for the new hires to do and B) small business is most likely still in the process of doing layoffs. Equity in homes, which often financed new businesses, has disappeared, so the start-up of new business is being hampered by the mortgage crisis and falling home prices. Small business is probably living on whatever credit they have left, which will require paying off in the future, so don’t expect any big gains there any time soon. Oh, and btw, small businesses can’t afford health insurance. With whatever customers they do have left pressuring them for rock-bottom pricing, there’s little money in there for the constantly rising costs of health insurance. So, if they do start hiring again, it will probably be jobs without health insurance.
I know this sounds negative. But this is reality. We spent too many years being told ‘the fundamentals of the economy are sound’ and running our lives as if that were actually true. That lie kept us from arranging our lives into more reasonable and realistic form, and cripples us now.
Small business is probably taking some of the biggest hits from the bad judgment and delusional thinking of the past 8 years. At least, that’s what I see in my little area, which is among the hardest hit.
Let’s hope somebody finally notices that small business needs a leg up, too--like the bailouts we are giving the big guys.
You would think media would cover this all-important area of our economy, but the media is curiously silent. Media can go on endlessly about the dangers of swine flu, giving us more coverage than we’re ever going to need on that subject. Media can cover Nancy Pelosi’s feud with the CIA and the Republican Party for days on end, covering every little detail, every nuance, every conjecture—but not the state of small business in America. Media can give us all the latest poop (and I do mean poop) on Brangelina, Madonna’s adoption case, and Jon and Kate Plus Eight’s marital difficulties—but they can’t tell us how small business, the incubator of new jobs in our country, is doing.
What’s that about?
One can guess how small business is doing in the U.S. Consumers have rolled back their spending. Credit is tight or can’t be gotten at all—which means small business cannot get it to cover payrolls or material for upcoming jobs. Small business can’t get orders from larger companies either, because large industries have slowed down to a stop as well. Small business can’t do any hiring, because A) there’s no work for the new hires to do and B) small business is most likely still in the process of doing layoffs. Equity in homes, which often financed new businesses, has disappeared, so the start-up of new business is being hampered by the mortgage crisis and falling home prices. Small business is probably living on whatever credit they have left, which will require paying off in the future, so don’t expect any big gains there any time soon. Oh, and btw, small businesses can’t afford health insurance. With whatever customers they do have left pressuring them for rock-bottom pricing, there’s little money in there for the constantly rising costs of health insurance. So, if they do start hiring again, it will probably be jobs without health insurance.
I know this sounds negative. But this is reality. We spent too many years being told ‘the fundamentals of the economy are sound’ and running our lives as if that were actually true. That lie kept us from arranging our lives into more reasonable and realistic form, and cripples us now.
Small business is probably taking some of the biggest hits from the bad judgment and delusional thinking of the past 8 years. At least, that’s what I see in my little area, which is among the hardest hit.
Let’s hope somebody finally notices that small business needs a leg up, too--like the bailouts we are giving the big guys.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Healthcare and the Great Republican Listening Tour 2009
First, let it be said that healthcare costs are killing small business. There’s no way small business can manage to cover its employees and make a profit. It simply can’t be done, for the most part, and it’s difficult enough for any small business entrepreneur to cover him or herself and family. If the businessperson happens to be over the age of 50, then the problem is magnified about 10-fold. If the businessperson happens to have one of those ‘pre-existing conditions’ magnify it again.
Because it is unlikely that anyone who is self-employed will be able to qualify for any state-assistance program, that over-50 or pre-existing-conditioned business owner will likely go without health insurance at some point. His or her employees will also go without it, also, because individual policies are obscenely expensive. So we have an entire class of people—small business owners and their employees—that are in chronic jeopardy of being without insurance. They will get sick, however, and will add to the rolls of people who turn up at emergency rooms getting the most expensive type of healthcare that adds to the cost of health insurance for those who DO get insurance through their employers. It’s a circle that has as yet been unbroken by any ‘ideas’ offered by political parties.
Which brings us to the Republican Party and their efforts to provide—or rather not provide—basic healthcare for the American people. If you have observed them as carefully as I have over the years, you can’t help but notice that they are alarmingly cavalier about this issue. Their best effort has been to offer ‘health savings accounts’ which as essentially catastrophic plans with big deductibles that many STILL cannot afford, even though these policies with their big outlay of personal savings for the deductible has contributed mightily to bankruptcies among the middle class. They know this—and still they do nothing. They do worse than nothing—they obstruct those who ARE trying to provide health coverage for Americans. And rest assured, with the big lay-offs this country has seen, even more people are doing without healthcare. As many as 9 million more. That means that these people are also contributing to the high cost of premiums for everyone with their use of emergency room care. Let the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord.
So now, we see Eric Cantor and the Great Republican Listening Tour 2009 spouting a lot of ‘focus-group-tested’ feel-good words to bamboozle us into thinking they are actually committed to doing something about our healthcare crisis—words like ‘cost savings,’ and ‘keeping your own doctors,’ and ‘our high quality of care’—words that are specifically designed to lead people around emotionally. I’m offended. The time for political manipulation has passed. It worked for Republicans for some time, but it left our country even worse off than before. And I’m holding them accountable for it.
Because it is unlikely that anyone who is self-employed will be able to qualify for any state-assistance program, that over-50 or pre-existing-conditioned business owner will likely go without health insurance at some point. His or her employees will also go without it, also, because individual policies are obscenely expensive. So we have an entire class of people—small business owners and their employees—that are in chronic jeopardy of being without insurance. They will get sick, however, and will add to the rolls of people who turn up at emergency rooms getting the most expensive type of healthcare that adds to the cost of health insurance for those who DO get insurance through their employers. It’s a circle that has as yet been unbroken by any ‘ideas’ offered by political parties.
Which brings us to the Republican Party and their efforts to provide—or rather not provide—basic healthcare for the American people. If you have observed them as carefully as I have over the years, you can’t help but notice that they are alarmingly cavalier about this issue. Their best effort has been to offer ‘health savings accounts’ which as essentially catastrophic plans with big deductibles that many STILL cannot afford, even though these policies with their big outlay of personal savings for the deductible has contributed mightily to bankruptcies among the middle class. They know this—and still they do nothing. They do worse than nothing—they obstruct those who ARE trying to provide health coverage for Americans. And rest assured, with the big lay-offs this country has seen, even more people are doing without healthcare. As many as 9 million more. That means that these people are also contributing to the high cost of premiums for everyone with their use of emergency room care. Let the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord.
So now, we see Eric Cantor and the Great Republican Listening Tour 2009 spouting a lot of ‘focus-group-tested’ feel-good words to bamboozle us into thinking they are actually committed to doing something about our healthcare crisis—words like ‘cost savings,’ and ‘keeping your own doctors,’ and ‘our high quality of care’—words that are specifically designed to lead people around emotionally. I’m offended. The time for political manipulation has passed. It worked for Republicans for some time, but it left our country even worse off than before. And I’m holding them accountable for it.
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