The Beauty of October

October brings clear, bright, brilliant blue skies, the kiss of a chill in the morning and a soothing heat midday. The sky is so very blue, the edges show violet. The rays of the sun are bent at such an angle to bring every little thing in perfect focus. The beauty of the light in October is edged in cruelty. With the slanting rays of the sun, one is aware of the precious shortening of daylight. The growing darkness that is winter. I do get a touch of dread for the coming months of darkness. This change of season seems especially poignant this year, coupled with the dark, uncertainty our current economy has fostered. It is difficult to find any encouragement for hanging on, persevering, lasting through the winter. I am a fervent believer in a free press, but lately the majority of press I see is overtly sensationalistic. 72 point type headlines, dread, fear, bankruptcy. Instead of reporting, I see agitation. I do not feel news reporters should insert their personal feelings into their stories. They should tell it as they see it. Well, I am no reporter, but this is what I see:
The Super WalMart parking lot is full. The wait time at our new Fatz Cafe is an hour or more. It is hard to find a parking space at the mall in Hickory. While the whole price of oil has fallen by a third, our gas prices have stayed the same. My employer has reduced manufacturing operations to 4 days to save overhead, our yarn suppliers are closing. Our customers still want new products. With the pessimistic outlook, we can not travel nor purchase anything. Once again, we designers bear the brunt. We are expected to save the day by designing and developing the next great thing by pulling the ideas out of thin air. Am I going to have a job this week? How about next month? How can I be expected to come up with new and exciting ideas when I am not nurtured, but restricted? I am so angry at the rampant greed of the finance industry, those greedy bastards are truly responsible for this mess. And, yes, they lose their jobs, but millions of dollars in severance soften their unemployment. I really believe in what goes around, comes around. I just hope when their Karma bites them in the ass, they realize it was their own actions that caused it.