'Weather outside frightful, life still delightful'

Please don't hold me to my euphoria...but, over and over, again, we hear variations on this theme: 'The economy is scary - but my pipeline's full." Maybe we're whistlin' while walking by the graveyard, but there's a lot of interesting stuff going on, reminiscent of the way Londoners carried-on, despite the blitz (petrol shortage, and all). Middle-agers who can afford to stay on the sidelines are starting new ventures, like Joe Maxwell. And, M&A deals, albeit more often under duress, are still getting done, just ask Bass Berry. And, today, we take our first go at much-touted SHOUTAmerica, an inter-generational story. There's plenty of other evidence of life going on. Yes, odds are, it will indeed get darker before the dawn. Still, somehow, it's a great time we live in. Cheers!