You know, I'm not too in the know about everything that is happening in our nation these days. It's a sorry admission, to be sure. I just tend to use my internet time reading articles that don't make me upset or freak me out. I'm the kind of gal who gets overwhelmed all to o easily, which then tends to lead to a pressing urge to curl in to a ball atop the nearest cushy surface and go to sleep. So I read personal blogs, and fun info-tainmenty sort of sites. But I thought just now, hey, I'm from Detroit, I need to know what's going on there even if I am hundred of miles away.
Earlier today I skimmed the op-ed that Mitt Romney wrote the encouraged Washington to let Detroit go broke. That idea alone sort of bristled my fur and gave me a very 'don't you talk about my city that way' feeling. Which led to me not really reading the piece entirely, and mostly keeping the phrase "shut up, Romney, you're a jerk" in the front of my mind while his words just passed in front of my eyes. Again, not very responsible of me. But this instinctual hometown pride just doesn't leave room for me to be unbiased.
So I was just reading another article from the NY times, and this quote jumped out at me: "But with the House set to adjourn at the end of Thursday, the automakers were left with only the dimmest of hopes that Congress would provide any assistance this year."
Maybe it's the fact that I haven't slept yet tonight and have not really gotten more than two or three hours of sleep a night this week. My emotions may be a bit overactive at this point. But that quote (and the rest of the article) hit me like knee to the gut. I don't particularly understand how the auto industry got to this point - but I'm sure that Big 3 executives aren't blameless. Regardless, I am scared for what will happen. And that fear is even harder to deal with because I don't even understand where it is coming from. I'm worried for the people in my home state and my relatives who work in the auto industry in a way that I didn't know I was capable of. It's that instinctual fear that you feel when something dear to you, something that is a large part of who you are, is under attack and you are powerless to change the course of events.
Detroit is in the news, and none of it is good. And it feels like I'm watching my mom get clotheslined or something. Overwhelming, indeed.
Did I mention I'm flying to New York in, oh, three hours? I slept last night for probably 4 hours, took an hour nap this afternoon, and now I'm basically running on adrenaline. I have some last minute packing to do, a shower to take, and some sad goodbyes to say. Then it's travelling all day and arriving at my new home looking like a pale-faced zombie and probably feeling as pleasant as one.
Long, long day ahead. Maybe my cab driver from LaGuardia to the Upper East Side will be Ben Bailey of Cash Cab, and I will answer all the questions correctly (naturally) and my money anxieties will be quelled for a couple of weeks.
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