As Dark as Dawn Can Be - With a Smile

I just attended a meeting with some of the best and brightest minds to be found in the Greater Lima, Ohio area.  The goal of this meeting was for all of us to receive the "cold, hard facts" about the state of the economy in our fair city and then to go about putting together our own, individual plans for turning things around in our areas of expertise.

What A Downer!

The facts as we received them were presented to us in a very flat, formal manner.  Slide after slide accompanied with a monotone basso in a darkened, warm, and a bit-too-small room just about put me to sleep.  The information presented just about put me to sleep for good.

The truth of our situation is grim.  Un-employment is up and expected to rise, housing starts are non-existent, rental rates are increasing as are vacancies, housing inventories are up, prices are down, manufacturing output is down, personal debt is increasing, savings are depleted, costs for everything are up, crime is rising, infrastructure improvements are all on hold, etc.

AAAAUUUGGGHHHHH!

When the meeting broke, we all went our separate ways with every intent to put forth our own due-diligence toward creating a plan for getting things on the right track.  We all know that we cannot alter history and history is created with every passing second.  There is no immediate fix.  We cannot put forth ideas to hide problems.  We should not put forth plans that will create larger problems.  None of us can toss in anything that is impossible to put into action.  There has to be a million ways to approach the situation at hand and all we have been assigned to do is to throw in our best of the million. 

I am proud to have been chosen to be a part of this brainstorming session, but the delivery of the facts has to be the hardest part of it.  The only way to describe it is to think of sitting through a horror film and then being forced to read to 3 year-olds immediately afterward.  Man, I wish my brain could flip fast enough to pull that off, but I can't so I am going to take a day to let the nasty wear off before I begin my idea gathering.

I hope that you can appreciate, not my efforts or my situation, but the ability to face the most grim with a smile and hope maintained for the future.