The other day, I was talking to someone about the Atari. He said that it was a poor-man’s Intellivision, and so began one of the weirdest conversations I’ve ever had. It wasn’t an argument, per se, but it was an out-of-the-blue chat about what made one video game system better than the other.
As I’ve been watching the stock market spiral into mid-90s territory – and realizing that my dream of retiring before, oh, 90, is gone – it’s been tough to find any bright spots. I mean, it’s really been a tough few months. When Citi can announce that it’s finally profitable and it causes a 300-point jump in the Dow, that’s a testament to the state of the economy.
In fact, the recent economic downturn has even changed the way we talk to one another. At work, at home or just around friends, we’re continually couching things in terms of the economy.
Earlier this week, I got an email from a buddy from my hometown. He proposed that a few of us get together at the old golf course – Magnolia Country Club in lovely, bucolic Magnolia, NC – for a round of golf for old time’s sake. Sounded like a great way to spend a early spring Saturday. That is, until a friend who still lives in the area threw down the news I didn’t really expect. The old course had been shut down.
