Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.
You work, you save, you worry so,
But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.
So keep repeating it's the berries,
The strongest oak must fall,
The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned
So how can you lose what you've never owned?
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all.
"Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries," lyrics by Lew Brown, music by Ray Henderson (1931)
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Oh, yes we're in the money, you bet we're in the money,
We've got a lot of what it takes to get along!
Let's go, we're in the money, Look up, the skies are sunny,
Old Man Depression you are through, you done us wrong.
We never see a headline about breadlines today.
And when we see the landlord we can look that guy right in the eye
We're in the money, come on, my honey,
Let's lend it, spend it, send it rolling along!
"We're in the Money," lyrics by Al Dubin, music by Harry Warren (from the film Gold Diggers of 1933, 1933)
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The 'suicide/murders reports' are starting to come in. It would be worthy of a sociological dissertation to learn whether death attributable to 'Wall Street Ruin' differs in any way between this generation and the one in the 30's.
This post is aimed at those of you who were living your lives, oblivious to the carnage about to happen, and found yourself, just as you did, during the dot com bust, with only a fraction of the wealth you had before. This time, however, the value of your house is ALSO a fraction of what it was once worth. For some, this means that your refinancing plans–to get out of credit card debt, or send your kids to another year of college–are trashed. That idea you had of selling the homestead and moving to someplace smaller and warmer, (or cooler) has vanished, and your thoughts have turned to wondering how much money you'd have to PAY, if you wanted to get out from under your mortgage. It's called being "upside down" on your mortgage, something I spoke about two years ago.
That was when it all looked rosy.
If you run a small business, you might find it impossible to expand, or your bank, because of its own financial trouble, might "call in your loan." Yes, they can do that, even if you haven't done anything wrong. They can decide, after a closed-door meeting, that they need to "call in your loan," and if you owe them $10,000 or $50,000 or $100,000, that you've been paying back, faithfully each month, they can send you a little piece of paper saying: "Pay it all now." And yes, it will bankrupt you. And, yes, they know it will.
[ ... ]
Meanwhile, if you have trouble sleeping, have lost your appetite, feel hopeless, helpless, depressed, or even suicidal, find a knowledgeable person to talk to. You need perspective. If you are clinically depressed, your thinking is foggy, and you'll need that broader perspective. You'll need strategies to help you sleep through the night, manage your anxiety, talk through your worries, and do the essentials that need to be done, day by day.
For those who are not clinically depressed, but just worried and upset, it may be time to watch a few great flicks from the Great Depression. These were "escapist" films that people would go to great lengths to find the nickel to go see. They lifted the spirits for a few hours, and took away the cares of a depression that no one believed would end in their lifetimes.
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