: a metaphor :

... who knew? the Denver Broncos actually held an audition workshop for those wanting to try out for the cheerleading squad? Let's see ... tutoring for interviews for a role on the sidelines of Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium. Half dressed.

... at the other end of the spectrum, Wall Street is tottering on the edge after an 85 year old pillar of financial strength ( Bear Stearns )
was brought to the brink last week as the fall out from the sub prime mortgage phenomenon continues to roll out. Just for a little perspective cnnmoney.com's top 5 stories today are all dealing with this ... from Wall St struggling back today, to the 'End of Wall St as we know it' ... and a little sidebar comment stating that James Cayne, Bear's former CEO, collected almost $40 million in pay for 2006.

I guess this post marks a return to my 'one serious; one silly' 'blogging pattern? but it does say something about modern life ... on one hand, a multi-million dollar organization putting on workshops for auditions for cheerleading, and on the other hand incredibly critical global ramifications playing out as a result of thousands of small decisions on risking lending practices.

This feels like a metaphor for my headspace these days ( as evidenced by this morning's post ). Small, seemingly insignificant things can end up derailing what once looked invincible ... sometimes important, stable givens are far more vulnerable than we dreamed. And yet, all across the same country dozens of teams will hold cheerleading audition workshops ... for what? I'm just thinking about where else that money could be put to use. People are walking away from homes they mortgaged for less than the Broncos organization spent on these workshops. And yes, long term homeless people probably could be helped and housed with the same financial investment. Crazy. Didn't Tony Campolo ask a few years ago ...

"who switched the pricetags?"

dlc