Monday's Musings

I've been trying to talk myself out of this since yesterday, but I just can't and so I'm going on a rant. I hope I don't offend anyone reading this post. I will say up front that I hope this doesn't apply to any of you. Having said that, here goes:

The Rant

There appeared on the front page of the Las Vegas Journal yesterday an article about, of all things, foreclosures. The accompanying picture was of a woman, perhaps in her late 50's, leaving her home with her heart medicine, her dog and her young grandson. Another picture showed some family friends loading their cockatoos onto a truck to take them away from the foreclosed property.


The poor woman (according to the article) didn't blame the constable who was just doing his job. No, the villains in this story were the unscrupulous lenders who talked these people into buying a $500,000 home when they (the buyers) kept telling them they couldn't afford it.

For just one moment, my sympathies were turned toward this woman. "But wait a minute." I said to myself "is there more to this story?" And, of course, there was. This woman, with a heart condition who wasn't employed, and her husband who earned $39,000 a year bought a $500,000 home on which mortgage payments were $4,500 per month. Now, I'm not a math genius, but it didn't take me but a minute to see that there was something wrong with this picture. When the buyers said they couldn't make that kind of payment, the lenders said not to worry that in six months they could refinance and the payments at 10.5% interest would be lowered. And the payments were lowered, to $3,800 per month. Oh! Oh!

The constables said that when they came to evict the family from this five bedroom, three and one half bath home, they found lovely plush carpeting, like new furniture and the family firmly ensconced in their lair.

When my husband made $39,000 a year we lived in a four bedroom cape cod ( and, oh yes, we still do) that cost us $23,000 and we didn't have anything new in our home. This morning as I washed my hands with liquid soap from the dispenser, I recalled how I wanted to buy liquid soap for my bathroom like some of my friends, but decided we couldn't afford it.

So here I am ranting. This woman in the newspaper thinks, that by some miracle, their home will be saved. She really thinks they are going to move back into their home and live happily ever after. And I say, "I don't want to pay for this." Sure there are unscrupulous lenders, no one denies that. Sure, people were led astray and the housing market is largely responsible for the economic problems of today. And, sure there are some people who legitimately should be helped to stay in their homes. But I ask you, "Where were their brains? Where was the common sense that should tell you that if you make $39,000 a year, have only $50,000 in savings (which you plunk down as a down payment), you cannot afford a house that is valued at half a million dollars?" It totally baffles me.

End of Rant!!

On a lighter and happier note, only two more sleeps until Linda and Jason get here. We talked to them yesterday afternoon and we are all so excited. We have a long list of things we want to do which will definitely have to be pared down. Some of the things we are planning are:

We have tickets for this Cirque du Soleil show. This is the show our son in law, Brian, works for. Jim and I have seen the show twice and are awed all over again each time we see it.

Also, Jim and I drove to the strip on Saturday and went to the Pallazo to pick up tickets for Jersey Boys. Linda and I are particularly smitten with these guys (the original 4 Seasons, that is) and their music. Jim and I have adopted their You're Just Too Good To Be True as our song as it was popular the summer we got married. So, you can see, we are really looking forward to the upcoming entertainment.

I do so love being here in Henderson, enjoying seeing Brian and Gretchen, basking in the warmth and enjoying the beautiful clear skies, but I miss my gal pals from NY. Linda's coming is a real boost for me. I can hardly wait.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday and looking forward to a good week. Let's all join Cheryl in performing acts of kindness every day.

~Hippo Hugs~