[Marilyn]

Janet, it is truly getting bad out there. This week alone, 5 people who I know personally have been laid off. One of them is a very well respected engineer who had been with his company for over 20 years. Horrible situation. His wife works for the same plant & fortunately still has her job. They have one young daughter, and the wife had a miscarriage in January. So far, it's not a good year for them. She has no idea what her husband will do. Hopefully someone near them is in need of an outstanding engineer. She and I and another engineer had a 2 hour lunch yesterday. She just needed to get away and talk. Her employer is cutting her some slack right now, thankfully. The bad thing is, if you have to move, you can't get what you should for your home & if you don't sell it, you often can't afford the payment and rent at your new location. It's getting tough out there, and Texas is in much better shape than many states.

For some reason though, I just have a feeling that things will be better soon. There's no logical reason for this feeling, but I've had it for a few days now. By the end of the year, I truly believe we will be in better shape. I think it will take years for the stockmarket to totally rebound, but people will be gaining confidence in the economy once again, and we will be on the mend.