The Winter of Despair

You know that recession has ceased to be an economic term and become a personal reality when....

*Your husband just got let go from his firm
*The rental office spaces in our office building have all but emptied out
*Storefront after storefront in my neighborhood - sometimes nearly 7 in a row have 'For Rent'signs
*A popular Indo-Western design store (that was overpriced anyways)sent me a 'Going out of Business - 90% discount' sale offer this evening
*The NYC subway system seems eerily empty
*Everyone, and I mean everyone I meet asks, "When will it get better?"

This fall and winter has been the fastest lesson in capitalism and business cycles I have ever had. I knew that we were into a recession back in February - but it seemed like a faraway statistic that wouldn't arrive at my doorstep.

How quickly things have changed. This morning, someone I know very aptly quoted from Charles Dickens - A tale of Two cities :

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us ..."

PS - The pic was taken by Tariq on his iphone as he walked through Central Park this afternoon