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Yearly Archives: 2012

Small Ripple, Big Waves

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Bad news has been roiling financial markets for some time.  It’s hard to stay on top of what has spooked investors recently and how important it might be.  A sense of fear and at time panic drives much of the news.  But last week a few things happened that might just be the worst news we have seen since the meltdown of Lehman in 2008, the event that plunged the financial world into crisis.

Two things have happened that have investment houses running for the exits very rapidly.  The first is that Spain appears to be in need of a bailout, the largest European economy to hit a key threshold yet.  The second is that a weak US jobs report has bid up demand for safe US treasuries to a dangerously high level.

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Election Economics, Pre-Summer

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As the months roll by, we have more data rolling in as we close in on the November election.  Despite some reason for optimism at the start of this year, there is no doubt that the economy is stalling again – making Obama’s job more tenuous.

How bad is it?  We won’t know until we get there, but the latest job figures show that we’re treading water.  It could be worse – we could be drowning.  Whether that’s a good enough case politically won’t be known for a few more months.  But so far we know the economy is not a good bet.

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Reluctant Spring

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Dark clouds pass quickly overhead, rolling and spreading as if angry.  Invisible strings pull the air and suck the energy out of small human plans, charging life with dark cold winds.  They have surprise on their side because just two days before it was bright and sticky hot, a lazy weekend that now seems like nothing more than a set-up for a sick joke.

Yet in those moments of sun there has been time to get together with friends in a casual summer wander.  Most have come with a shared secret. “I have this project I’m working on, don’t tell anyone.”  Bright eyes push ahead a little stutter, a speech being practiced for when the real pitch-day comes.  In front of us is something new, a craft moving through the art of being perfected.  We talk about plans, possibilities, work and energy.  Then, eventually, a few clouds roll into the conversation – Europe, stalling employment, huge banks losing tons of money, and the rigged stock market.  They suck the energy out of the moment and set aside the craft and plans.

This is the reluctant Spring that arrived early but can’t stay with us.

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Union

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Memorial Day started as a commemoration of the hundreds of thousands killed in our Civil War.  It was a war that started because the nation could not tolerate being half free and half slave-owning any longer.  What won the day was one nation, once assembled, which could never pull apart.  Perpetual Union is now sanctified in blood and taken as a given.

While we pause to remember the sacrifices of those who came before us, Europe is deep into their own process for understanding what Union means to them.  It has been in the works for perhaps 200 years, or 2,000 if you want to start with Rome.  The bloodshed has been grave and terrible.

Does it really come down to stark choices like this for Europe?

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Memorial Day in Oakland Cemetery

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The scraggly oak trees intertwine their branches in a tall ceiling that shades the entire drive. Here, the appropriate view of the eternal isn’t blue and bright, but sheltered and close to the ground.  The rows of marble and granite dazzled by bright flowers have their own quiet redemption as the slow speed limit and a gentle wave from each passerby gives the setting grace.

This is Oakland Cemetery, Saint Paul’s municipal cemetery, founded in 1853.

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