Nothing Says I Love You Like a Glock

I was in the local Bass Pro store (hey, they got great clothes!). As usual I spent some time looking at the guns and boats. I like both and wish I had more time for both. Interestingly, the gun counter was unusually busy. I think the uncertainty of hard economic times and a novice president is taking its toll. Several of the more popular guns were sold out. I watched a caring young man trying to select the perfect gun for his wife for Christmas. Certainly, nothing says I love you like a Glock.

But, the aura of modern day America is worrisome. It reminds me of the gas shortage of the 1970s and Black Monday in 1987. With the economy in the dumps and the stock market more labile than a fat diabetic's blood glucose level in a Krispy Kreme, the fear of the average Joe is real. People are stocking firewood and ammunition. Somali pirates have hijacked nearly 100 ships on the high seas. Las Vegas is so slow they are giving away rooms (and Chris Angel's MindFreak show at the Luxor is so bad it is stinking up the strip). Even American Airlines has some deeply discounted fares. Times they are a changing. But, are they changing for the better or for the worse?

Pondering this, I believe that many have lost confidence in America and are forgetting the American dream. The Drudge Report had a link that detailed the presumed demise of America as a world power. The recent elections demonstrated that we do not have a leader who can do for America what Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan did--lead us out of our despair. Until that leader comes, we must find solace in other things.

Well, I've put off seeing the Medicaid family of 4 with runny noses as long as I can. The nurse has put the charts in front of me 3 times now. It is amazing that an emergency department can look so busy it might be mistaken for a disaster, only to find that all of the patients are actully less sick than the staff working the department. It is hard to imagine the amount of money a small rhinovirus costs the welfare-paying public each Winter. Life sucks sometimes.