This is a hard world...

So after speaking with several people, all jobless to some extent, it seems that this really is a hard time. You may be reading this and thinking, duh!, but it really is.

And my political musings continue in accordance with this. President Obama faces something of a perfect storm. To use a common Whitman metaphor, the "captain" is really on a sinking ship. The eye of the storm is approaching, a Christmas calm, and then 2009 will bring with it uncertainty and God knows, some important changes. Obama faces not only the burden of the storm but also that of navigating the ship. And much like the Flying Dutchman, this ship disappears and reappears in various iterations with various directions and courses. There is no telling who will fall victim to its reappearance. Recently, it seems, the whole world is (not just those ships in the Bermuda Triangle).

As all of us seek employment, stability and care in this time of great uncertainty, we should remember that just as ships pass in the night, land may be just beyond the horizon. In the meantime, pray that "the prize we sought is won" and that our new Captain steers this unpredictable ship to its charted destination.