The tail of the dog

Here we are on December 31, 2008. It is the end of the day and I am getting ready to leave the office, not to come back until 2009. There have been a lot of bad things this year, starting with the severe drop in real estate closings, followed up with Kate's near graduation in May. For the first part of the year, it seemed as if it was going to be a struggle to accomplish the things which we simply assumed would occur.

Now we are in an economy which makes everything a struggle for everyone. Cindy and Kate and I just came home from Florida after having spent the Christmas holidays in Knoxville and everyone seems to have the same story: business is down to next to nothing and there is no sign that anything will change in the near future.

At the same time, gas prices are drifting to the bottom. I drove through Zebulon this afternoon and the gas prices for unleaded were hovering around 1.489. That's cool. That means that we can still drive to the poorhouse if we choose to do so.

Christmas was jolly. I did feel like a short distance truck driver for awhile. After everything was over, we were tired and glad that we got to visit with everyone. But at the same time, it did tend to make us appreciate our own little home in Middle Georgia. It is nice and cozy and the dog is quiet and still sleeping on the sofa.

I would like to see a little bit of a pick up in business to keep the wolves at bay in 2009. It shouldn't be so difficult to keep the balls in the air.

There are no guarantees. That is our motto for 2009.

As we sit at the tail of this dog, we will anticipate a lot of barking from the dogs of 2009.

Woof! Woof!