Monthly Archive for April, 2008

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Published
by
cdeagle
on April 28, 2008
in Writing
. 0 Comments

No cartographer has
seen your contours
mapped the sweat-tracks
on your body, or
walked the valley of
your back in the
moonlight.

I will traverse your
hidden highways,
see your skin shiver
like wheat in an
autumn storm. Rest
in your laybys,
lose myself in your
secret city.

And lost, wander through
your shadowy sanctuary,
cathedral of trees,
feeling the rhythm of
your heart beneath my feet
whisper of your breath
on my neck,
for a single heartbeat
a solitary eternity.

I’ll find myself again
burried in your summer
hair, dripping with
sunlight the color
of wild honey.

And make no map,
trace no line of
you on parchment:
but hold your landscape

Forever

in my heart

An Exercise in Reconstruction

Published
by
cdeagle
on April 23, 2008
in Writing
. 0 Comments

It was 1997, I believe.  I was in Colorado, in the rockies.  Springtime in the Rockies is incredible, you can see forever, and everything that you see is verdant, flourishing.  We were at this campsite for about a week, but there are a few moments that I can’t forget.  This was one of them.

I was standing next to my friend Matt a short distance from our tents, looking down into a rectangular valley.  We stood on the easternmost rim of this valley, and to the north and south rose hills, not unlike the one we were camped on.  To the west the valley was closed off by a mountain, 4 or 5 miles away. 

It had been a beautiful afternoon, and the blue sky above us seemed very sure of itself.  It was the impending doom of that blue sky which stopped us in our tracks.  Great white thunderheads had crested the peak of the far mountain, and were rolling toward us.  Billowing and shining in the sun they came, like a charge of cavalrymen clad all in white robes and capes.  In their wake a veil of rain obscured all.  Onward they rushed, and for our part we held fast.  Though it took minutes for these riders to cross the valley, it felt like seconds.  There are scenes in the natural world that are so transfixing in their beauty that it is impossible, in their presence, to account for the passage of time.  This was one such, even the threat of a thorough drenching could not uproot us, until we’d seen the riders vanquish the sky overhead.

Water brings life, and goosebumps in equal measure.  Nothing will shock you out of a reverie quite so well as a torrential downpour, and we realized that we were farther from the tents than we’d thought.  And it was completely worth every drip, every ounce of mud, every moment of cold.

One of my only regrets about living where I do is that I don’t see things like that on a daily basis…but maybe my lack of regular exposure to that sort of beauty opens my eyes to it all the more.

I’ll be with you till the day I die

Published
by
cdeagle
on April 17, 2008
in Life and Writing
. Closed

I saw him again this morning, dressed all in black, walking along the roadside with a clarinet (of all things!) slung ’round his neck. 

And at his side came his companion, charging through dew laden grass in endless exploration.  His companion, this animal, must have been tethered to him by invisible bonds of fealty, because it never strayed far.  All the world to see and smell, and this dog was content with a man, whose appearance and bearing were inglorious as any.

There’s a myth, thought to have originated in Romania. 

It seems that Saint Peter was taking a stroll in heaven with God when a dog came up. “What’s that?” said Saint Peter. God told him it was a dog, adding, “Do you want to know why I made him?” Naturally Peter was interested. “Well, you know how much trouble my brother, the Devil, has caused me . . . how he made me drive Adam and Eve out of Paradise. The poor things nearly starved, so I gave them sheep for meat and warm wool to clothe them. And now that fellow is making a wolf to harass and destroy the sheep! So I have made a dog. He knows how to drive the wolf away. He will guard the flocks. He will guard the possessions of man.”

It’s a great story, but I would suggest a better creation myth for dogs, based on what I know of their nature, and what I saw this morning, on the roadside.  God created Eve to complete Adam, and in her God nurtured all of the attributes that, in Adam, were weakest.  In this way, the characteristics which Adam lacked were gifted to him.  Eve was a help, that which Adam was not, she was. 

After she was created, Adam rejoiced.  But, in that dawn of the earths creation, when the world was still fresh, all things were new and alive with the power that had formed them, I think Adam came back to God.  I imagine he said, blundering as he was, that Eve was wonderful and all, but Lord, she is so strong willed, and I can hardly get a word in.  In the strengths that a woman has, innate and opposite, a man may feel diminished.  And, the Lord saw this, and knowing that it would cause strife, He sought a way to perfect the opposite strengths in Adam.  Not to counteract, but to balance those which Eve possessed.

With this goal, He created the dog, which may be loved by a woman, but which can only belong to the heart of a man.  And the next morning, when he rose, Eve asked him where they would go, and what they would eat, and how he felt about an orange orchard…and Dog followed him, spoke little, and trusted much.  In the evenings, I imagine that they walked together, this first man and dog, creating a relationship that all of their descendants would, ever after, long for.  Walked, and said naught.  In the wilderness, this first dog died, defending the man Adam, and as it did, its heart broke that it wouldn’t be beside the man anymore.  That it couldn’t teach him to lead fearlessly by showing him reckless trust, that it wouldn’t sit by his side in the murky dusk and keep watch, that it couldn’t, just once more, sacrifice itself to protect him. 

And we have inherited this relationship.  Men mostly have, and are hardly embarassed to admit having, a deep and abiding affection for dogs.  There is a kind of familiarity in a mans relationship with a dog.  It needs no explanation, it is a thing understood.  Instinctual.  As welcome and comfortable as an old pair of shoes, or a favorite seat (here, C.S. Lewis would say, “at the pub”, and I will say…) at that coffee shop, just down the street. 

My inglorious traveler on the roadside, who may go home to a life of little wonderment, is invested in a relationship as old as time.  What use can there be for a leash, when a man and a dog have found their places in eachothers lives? 

Economic Recession: ORLY?

Published
by
cdeagle
on April 16, 2008
in Economy
. 0 Comments

I’m no economist.  I’m just a lowly consumer.  Because of that, I’m obviously not qualified to have an opinion about the current state of the economy.  However, I take issue with some of the things that the media is saying.

 

1. Consumers are being hit hard at the pumps

Sure, gas is up anywhere from 40 - 60 cents above what it was this time a year ago…Which, on a 10 gallon tank, is about an extra $6.  I think most people will agree with me: an extra $6 at fill-up every week and a half isn’t going to break my bank.  Seriously.

2. Increased costs of Rice and Flour are greatly affecting shoppers at supermarkets.

No?  I think I pretty much fit the description of the average consumer, and…I’m gonna go out on a shaky limb here and say that I’m not detecting an appreciable difference in the cost of groceries.  Certainly not enough to make me wince.  Certainly not.

3. Because of the shaky economy, consumers are reluctant to spend.

This seems to be largely based on three things.  The two points I’ve discussed above, and some sort of data that every media outlet but me has access to.  I haven’t seen any stastical data to back up the media consensus of a downturn in consumer spending.  Is there data like that?  Probably.  Will we ever see a full report that actually means anything?  Probably not.

These are the reasons that the economy is, allegedly, suffering (that’s what makes 3 so interesting, it is a cited as a reason for the economic woes, while simultaneously being described as a response to them.  This is fine, and it works out, but I think it’s also a little Chicken-Egg-Black-esque.(for all you Wilco fan(s))).  But what are the signs that the economy is suffering?  Where is the evidence?  The media seems to be keying off of a few things.

1. In the last 14 days, one airline has gone bankrupt, one has filed for bankruptcy protection, and two have initiated a merger, all in response to economic pressure.

Delta had a complete Reorg a little over a year ago, invalidating a few million dollars worth of stocks in the process, to avoid completely shutting down.  Didn’t know they could do that?  Neither did I.  Airlines struggling is not a new thing, and while it may be related to profit margins, I submit that it has a lot more to do with poor management and the necessity to cut prices to the absolute bone, brought on by stiff competition without innovation.  What do I mean?  The checkin process is essentially not different than it was 20 years ago, and it probably costs just as much from a human resources standpoint, but ticket prices have come down over 200%.  I think this is indicative of the airline industry…they have lowered costs substantially without making any sweeping changes to the way they do business that allows for these cuts.  What do we lose, then, if we aren’t becoming more efficient?  Quality.  We’ve seen a significant decline in airline service, timeliness, and quality in the last two decades.

Of course, I’m not an industry insider, and this is all wild speculation, but I don’t think you need to be an industry insider to know that spiraling costs with no change in production methods cannot result in increased profits or improved customer experience.

What I’m saying is, Airlines have been troubled for years.  It’s not a surprise that a few of them are going out of business. We’ve seen it in the past, not coupled with the other “signs of the times”, and had no major panic over it.
2. The Sub-Prime mortgage implosion.

First, lets clear the air.  Do I feel bad for people who are losing the homes that they can’t afford and shouldn’t have bought in the first place?  Yes.  I do.  Losing your home must be a terrible, awful, horrid feeling.  Do I think they deserve a bailout?  I’m sorry, no.  Do I think the responsibility for their woes lies at the feet of the mortgage companies who issued them dangerous loans?  No.  If you take a loan and make your payment contingent on a continual increase in property value unlike any seen in history, you’re setting yourself up for financial ruin.  I don’t care if your mortgage broker told you that you were qualified, and that it would be fine.  Your finances are your responsibility, not his.

So we have a handful of homeowners (and mortgage companies!) that risked their financial lives on a really, really stupid idea of house futures.  Now a large group of those homeowners are losing their homes, and the market is being flooded with foreclosures, which would SEEM to lower the value of homes.  In fact, value isn’t changing at all.  Value did not change while the bubble was inflating, only perceived value did. 

This normalization is always seen after a bubble bursts.  Property values will return to a level at which they can be supported by their local economies.  Some people will lose their credit ratings and have to start over.  Is this the end of America as we know it?  I sincerely doubt it.

The government has already shown a willingness to help large financing companies keep their heads above water.  The government is taking steps to protect the core economic foundations of the country, and they have indicated that they will continue to do so.  A decline (to the correct level) of home costs, and some people being turned out, is NOT an economic downturn.  It is a market correction.

3. Home sales are down

Duh?  Do I need to address this?  Loans are becoming sane again, and there isn’t a frenzy of people who are buying and selling homes from each other, climbing some imaginary money-ladder built on debt.  Little known secret: imaginary money-ladders built on debt invariably lead to pain.  Nolie.

But home sales being down in the wake of a housing bubble bursting ALSO isn’t surprising.
What would convince me that a recession was starting?  Home prices dropping below the floor that the local economy should, and naturally does, create.  Irvinehousingblog.com did the math for me, so go there for the charts.  There are formulas for this stuff, it isn’t witchcraft.

What else?  National unemployement rate rising appreciably.  At the end of 2007 it was 4.8.  In March of this year it was 5.1.  This is not significant.

One more?  Sure.  ANY sign of recession that I can see with my own eyes in my day to day life.  Well established businesses downsizing, stores closing, successful companies stock prices declining…Am I seeing this stuff?  Not really. 

So…if there’s a recession, and I can’t see it anywhere around me, and no one that I know is feeling it…where’s the recession?