SURVIVING SUPER TUESDAY AND OTHER THINGS

We had a big day of primary elections yeaterday in our run for the presidency 2008. Promise the voters anything and get elected and then do what you want. The candidates are either for the wars in the Mid-East or they think they could be.

While the politicians were usurping a lot of america's attention, the stock market fell 370 points. And the news this morning is that the bond insurers are looking pale and wan right now. Those bond insurers are the guys who insure that all those phoney mortgages will get paid to the people holding the mortgage. Man. Is this ever going to be a stench.

I remember a year and a half ago when I heard those crazy commercials on our little local radio station about how a woman could come in and get a home equity loan to finance her shopping trip that afternoon. Having sprung from parents and grandparents who went thought the great depression, the idea of a home equity loan to finance an afternoons shopping seemed like insanity to me. And with the passing of time, it has proven to be insane to the max. We were taught not to borrow. I remember when my grandfather retired and his kids wanted him to get car and be able to travel to Ohio and Kentucky to visit his relatives. He didn't have the cash so his kids took him to the bank for an auto loan. But he had no credit history for them to make the loan. He owned three complete houses and two apartments, but he had never borrowed a cent. Of course my aunts and uncles got everything cleared up and grandfather got his Chevy. But it is an interesting tale in that the old man didn't have any credit history. And the idea of borrowing on his house would have made him sick. You DID NOT risk your home to get a loan. No way.

But today it is perfectly reasonable to get a loan on your home for a shopping trip. Or for a kids wedding. Or for a trip to the Bahamas. After all, the value of your property would go up the next year. But it ain't doin' that any more, Bubba. May not do it again in our life times. The bubble has burst. And since only 10% of our workers are in the manufacturing sector, the office types are taking a hit. Easy credit is a thing of the past. And the credit that is still out there is going to be awfully hard to come by. And the interest rates could very well climb like a rocket.

They say we are in a ressession. That means we are in depression. If they say we are in a depression then I don't know what the hell to call it.

But spend your mney on tangibles. Things you can hold in your hand or put in your closet. These are the things that can help you make it until things get sorted out. And it is the same old stuff. Canned food, guns and ammo, first aid materials, survivl books on gardening, etc. You know the drill.

I have a short piece from the old farm lady, Charli Gribble. She contributes a lot of stuff in the Herb area.
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Want some good tea? Try sassafras (Sassafras Officinale).
It is found in the eastern part of the U.S. as well as Mexico......
It is very aromatic and is used for flavoring drinks....tastes kinda
like a root beer...sorta.......Nowadays it is chiefly recommended
for rheumatism, skin complaints, and some say diarrhea . I don't
know about the last part, when I can find it, I drink it by the gallon.....
The leaves are good to dry and use in gumbo/soup/stews......
They are called fill`e , like fil`e gumbo........they are a good seasoning.
I can't get around to where they are cutting down trees, else I would
have a whole store room full of roots!
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The powers that be say that Sassafras Tea is bad for you. I drink it anyway and always have since I was 4 or 5 years old. Good Spring tonic.

Stay alive.

Michael