Tuesday, June 5, 2012

When it comes to Key lime pie, rollercoaster rides, and episodes of Mad Men, asking for seconds is the recommended, if not obvious, thing to do. But when it comes global economic slowdown, it’s safe to say once is enough. Unlike pie, though, this isn’t a phenomenon susceptible to choice, and with all the recent buzz about a possible double-dip recession, I’ve been trying to steel myself for another shitstorm.

In truth, I don’t think I can prepare. In fact, I frankly forgot what it felt like to live in a climate of lurking dread, so I turned to the archives for insight, which I found in short order: October 25, 2011, with “mired” as the word of the day. Suddenly, it all came rushing back. That feeling of being stuck, mixed with the press for survival.

There’s also some denial thrown into the mix. You’ll notice I said “possible” double-dip, and that’s an angle I’ve heard echoed in mainstream media. To borrow a line from Cinderella Man, though, what if we’re dead and we just don’t know it? What if we’re already in the dip? Assuming we’re not, it feels like the last quarter mile before the gridlock as you ease off the gas, a sea of still red lights ahead of you. The only thing you can do, I guess, is persist. Punch through it. I’d say my psychic wounds from the first recession have just about scabbed over. How about yours? I just need them scabs to hold.