Observations on the Economy

Yesterday I spent most of the day spreading my carbon footprint.

I started the day arguing with my stock broker who thought I was crazy to buy the cheap stocks I was ordering. I've lost 50% of my retirement fund listening to his advice while ignoring my own instincts. If I lose the rest of it my way, I'll let the government take care of me in my old age. That seems to be the way of the future anyway, according to the news.

I emailed contracts for two bus leases to a customer and sent my favorite driver ahead of me with a truck we were delivering to a new customer in Maryland who found us on the Internet. This Internet thing that Al Gore invented is pretty cool. If only we could email the trucks as well as the documents.

So off I go to Silver Spring, Maryland. I stopped in Keyport for gas at $2.979 per gallon. I noted that my credit card worked. I guess there is still some money in the system. My GPS and cell phone were both working. Listening to the news, it sounded as if the world was ending, yet everything seemed to be working fine. There were no bread lines along Route 36. Not even at Guttenplan's.

Much to my surprise there were lots of vehicles on the Turnpike as I headed south. Freight from all over the country was being hauled. I noticed cars and trucks with license plates from all over. Several times drivers honked and waved at me. Some gave me a thumbs up. One guy from Massachusetts flipped me the bird. I keep forgetting that NOBAMA sticker I have on the back of my car.

As I was leaving New Jersey the electronic sign over the entrance to the Delaware Memorial Bridge said, "IN A CRISIS? CALL 1-800-DON'T-JUMP". I didn't notice any jumpers, or any phones on the bridge. I guess if you're in a crisis and you're out of minutes on your cell plan, you're doomed.

I pulled into a rest stop off 95 in Jessop Maryland to meet up with my driver and the truck we were delivering. A young man in his late twenties came right up to my car door and waited for me as I was finishing a phone call. I lowered the window and he told me very sincerely that he needed to get his family to Richmond for his mother's funeral and needed $50 for gas. He would send it back to me if I gave him my address. I gave him $10 and told him not to worry about sending it back. He moved on to the car that had pulled in next to mine while I went off to "rest." About three minutes later when I was finished resting, I saw the beggar and the guy from the car next to me walking away from what appeared to be the beggar's car. It looked as though the new guy was verifying the beggar's story. Good for him. As I approach them, I asked, "Did you get your gas money?" The beggar said "Not yet" and the new guy introduced himself. "I'm John." "Hi John, I'm Art." He was a very Catholic looking fellow. If you're Catholic or have ever been, you probably know what I mean. "Are you getting him taken care off?" I said to John. "Yes, I'm getting him on the road." "Good, thanks." As I pulled out I noticed that John's car had New Jersey license plates. The beggar was from Maryland. I don't know what this says about Jersey guys, but it was an interesting experience.

As I pulled onto Route 495, THE Beltway, at 2:30 in the afternoon, traffic was as bad as I remembered it 30 years ago when I was a student in Washington. The government economy was obviously thriving. A newer car pulled over a few lengths ahead of me. A very well dressed woman got out of the passenger side, pointed at the driver with what looked like heated words and proceeded to turn around and barf ferociously over the guard rail. You don't see that every day.

We arrived at the customer's location about 3PM. They are a large landscaping contractor. It occurred to me how sad it was that I had to repossess this truck from a local company but this Maryland company was thriving. It was pay day and the large crew, about twenty trucks pulled in with the company's name on it, were arriving for their pay. The crew all spoke Spanish put they were getting paid with checks, so I guess they were legals.

The fleet manager was the best I'd ever seen. He went over the truck with a fine tooth comb before acceptting delivery. I offered him a job on the spot. "Move to Jersey? No thanks." Oh well.

The trip home with my driver was filled with laughs about things I won't write about here.

We stopped outside of Baltimore for a surprise visit on one of my favorite customers. A Women's and Minority Owned Business trucking company. "Am I in trouble?" she said as I arrived. "You always seem to be" I said to her laughter. She proceed to take a half hour to tell me of her latest victory over a much larger company and a government agency that was trying to put her out of business. She is the toughest, smartest and one of the least formally educated people I know.

Back on the road heading home. There was a sign on the Delaware side of the Delaware Memorial Bridge that said, "Escort Waiting Area." I didn't see any. But there was a great deal of commerce on the road and in the shopping centers and restaurants that I passed on the way home.

Yes, there is a great deal of pain and stress in our economy right now, but I see more opportunity than danger.