By Staff
I once gave a friend a plaque which read, "Pull up your big girl pants and deal with it."
Lately it seems we have a lot to deal with and snow is just part of it.
I remember one January when we couldn't make it to church four weekends in a row.
The kids were upset because the snow that year always seemed to clear up for them to go to school on Monday.
The best new year I ever spent was when we couldn't leave my friend's New Year's Eve party because of an ice storm.
We were sliding all over the road and simply turned back to their house.
We spent a few days playing games and having a wonderful visit.
We had heat and food and shelter.
What more could we ask for?
This year, people are waiting and wondering what changes will come with the new President taking office.
I usually am an optimistic person, but I can't help but think change takes time and we aren't going to see enough to stimulate the economy to the point of a quick recovery.
Those people I know who were hurting before are now at a point of major disaster, bankruptcy and closing businesses.
Instead of helping these people with loans, banks are holding on to the money they received in the bailout.
Maybe they just don't want to lend money for 30 years at 5 percent when they could get more later, when the economy improves.
Too bad that the ones who were refused loans, even with excellent credit, will be out of business.
It still would have been better to get some money into the hands of people who would buy cars, build up their businesses and employ more workers and who would spend so our stores could stop closing.
One of my sons, who can't get a loan for his business even with an 800 credit score, has had to put his workers out of work.
Refusing his loan has cost not only his business, but put four additional families at risk and possibly on welfare.
Also it seems to me the news media are still too interested in race or whether someone is a woman or man.
It is tremendous for those children, whether black, yellow or green, to grow up realizing they could be President of the United States.
Girls, too, now know they can dream about serving in that role and living in the White House, not just as a spouse.
But when are we all really going to believe we are all created equal?
I am afraid it will not be in my lifetime.
Isn't worrying about the color of someone's skin, or whether his heritage is pure, something which should have ended with the World War where many innocent people were killed because they may have worshiped a little differently or looked a little different.
Until we can write about someone and not put that they are black or white, things won't really be as they should.
Until people don't hear someone speaking Spanish and immediately think they are in the country illegally …
Until your credit score, which for most of the people I know is riddled with errors, isn't the main deciding factor in the rest of your life …
Until we all give others the benefit of the doubt …
Real change isn't going to happen.
She can be reached at: marcia.steffens@leaderpub.com.