This article is reprinted with permission from a friend of mine in Dallas that is a Realtor!
It really does a good job showing us that things are not that bad.
FROM THE DESK OF RON
During the holidays, my wife and I had the opportunity to take a “road trip” to St. Louis Mo. While on the trip, we marveled at the bright prospects for our nation’s future. After reading and seeing all the negative stories filled with doom and gloom we are exposed to every day in the newspapers, on television and the internet, it was refreshing to refill our tanks with optimism.
Along our drive, we saw building sites under construction, experienced new roads being built (lucky for me, that always seems to happen when Cindy is driving), passed retail stores with grand opening banners and visited new home subdivisions with families just setting up homes. We saw an optimistic nation trying to make a better world for tomorrow despite the lagging economy, global warming debates and war fighting on two fronts.
America today is not unlike America of the past. The Pilgrims, traveling across storm-tossed seas, founded America on optimism. President Abraham Lincoln led our nation through a bloody civil war driven by optimism, knowing the United States would have a brighter future if all men were truly created equal and could enjoy the full citizenship of this great nation. For hundreds of years immigrants with an optimistic view have risked everything to come to America for a better life. Men and women of our military forces have fought and died around the world so America could be a place of opportunity for their fellow citizens. Despite the gloomy news, the optimistic America still exists and I am thankful for that.
In St. Louis, Cindy and I had the chance to share a holiday meal with a co-worker and friend of our daughter. Although we had not yet met, this young mother eagerly invited us for dinner. Dawn wanted to share her family traditions and open her new home to us. Without hesitation, we accepted her invitation. Although she had never really tested her cooking skills for a large holiday meal before, I must say it was one of the best meals we have had in a very long time. You see, she “spiced-up” the meal with the optimism we saw while traveling.
Dawn is young, just really getting started on her career and has a nine year old daughter. Despite her tiny size, she works a physically demanding job (think unloading 40 pound boxes from semi-trailer trucks) and is paid by the hour. She works hard to instill the “right” values in her daughter and worries about paying the bills like everyone else. But she is optimistic.
Taking advantage of the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit program, Dawn just purchased her first home. Before dinner, she excitedly gave us the cook’s tour of her modest 1960’s era, 3 bedroom, 1 bath home. She explained her desires to repaint and remodel. She told us about her future plans and the bright tomorrow she envisioned. Her optimism, fueled by her sense of pride and desire for a better future for her daughter, led her to homeownership. She purchased a home with a fixed-rate mortgage which she could afford on her present salary. Dawn had taken the first step in a more secure, optimistic future. Best of all, she no longer pays rent to a landlord.
Dawn epitomizes America’s future and past to me. Like our ancestors, she has faced adversity and struggled to make the best of her current circumstances. She recognized the reality of her challenges and made decisions that can lead to a better tomorrow. Dawn did not buy her “dream home” with a champagne mortgage and a beer budget. She set realistic goals, studied her options, took advantage of the opportunities America has to offer and started the next chapter in her life. Dawn is not paralyzed by a weak economy, unrealistic dreams, a modest budget or the lack of a “can do” spirit. She is using her skills and optimism and seizing the moment. Dawn is living the American dream.
Good luck, Ron.
