Tough times hit home

By Cecil Chandler
Feature Reporter
Published: October 26, 2008

Good morning everybody and welcome back to another Cecil’s World in Print. As you well know we are going through some tough times. I have friends whp have lost their jobs because of the slow economy and some of them may lose their homes and cars along with a lifestyle they have been used to for many years. All we hear about in the news is the decline in the stock market, banks going broke and home and business foreclosures. It has reached a point where most of us are living one day at a time. We are not sure any more if that nest egg we have been putting away for retirement will be there when we retire. I think it is time we realized that this country is facing some tough times.

I understand we need to spend money to help the economy, but I think we do need to spend wisely. The largest number ever of Americans are facing bankruptcy. It’s time families stop charging everything on credit cards. Too many people are living above their means. Credit cards are ruining a lot of families today. It is so simple to pull out the plastic and say “charge it.” Don’t say you don’t do it. Many of you do it every day, and then when you receive your bill you can’t pay it all off. So this becomes a regular routine of charging and just paying the minimum payment. For some of you, your kids may end up paying your credit cards off a long time after you are gone. We have got to learn to live within our means. If you have financial problems don’t wait until it is too late. Get help now.

It appears to me that most of us are just moving too fast and do not take time to smell the roses. We are always rushing to work, missing our kids’ ball games and recitals. At night when we get home, a lot of us do not take time to talk to our family. All we want to do is go to bed and get ready for another day of the same old thing. I was that way at one time but I have slowed down a lot. I finally realized when I die my company will miss me but they will get along without me. WBTW will find someone to replace me when I am gone doing cooking shows and unusual stories. As they say in the business, “The show must go on.” Tonight when you get home from work, take time to talk to your neighbors, play with your kids and ask your wife how her day was. Remember if you have a family, you are not the only person in that household who is going through some tough times.

This weekend, take a break from work and take the family somewhere fun. Stop worrying about everything. Whatever will happen will happen. I am going to do something a little different in today’s column. I am going to leave you with a thought of the day that goes right along with this column: If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring. He sends you a sunrise every morning Face it, friend — he is crazy about you! God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way. Read this line very slowly and let it sink in. If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it.

That’s it for another Cecil’s World in Print, I’ll see you next week right here in the Morning News and on the tube.

— Cecil Chandler is a veteran reporter at WBTW News13. His column appears Mondays in the Morning News.