The Delinquent Atavist

I haven't been around much lately, have I? I've been busy dealing with the minutiae of our Panama Roca Milagro project and other fun stuff. The photograph above shows construction of the wooden cap that will adorn the main entrance way at Roca Milagro. Most of the main roads in the project are cut now and we are preparing the cul-de-sacs that the contractor left until last to complete. We are waiting for a permit to transport and use a huge rock crusher to produce gravel for our internal roads. And it is raining, more and more, as we enter the worst of the rainy season. That slows work down considerably.

I also took a week off to spend time with my cousin Friedhelm, his wife Brigitte and their daughter Sarah, who came to visit. Dr. Friedhelm Pedde, an archaeologist with the Free University of Berlin, gave a presentation at the University at Buffalo, New York, and I picked him and his family up there to spend some time with my family here in Ontario. I hadn't seen them since 1992, when I visited Germany. It was great to see them all and my family and I enjoyed their visit. Brigitte is an art historian and their daughter Sarah is an aspiring photographer.

It is getting colder here in Ontario and the days are getting shorter. Soon, I will be getting weird looks as I continue to wear the short-sleeved shirts and sandals over bare feet that I favour until my feet turn to icicles. I refuse to give in. I want my summer, dammit, even if I have to try to delude myself that it is still warm outside. I have been attending meetings recently with a financial adviser friend of mine who is suggesting to his clients that they invest in building lots in our project. Each time I show up, he glances down to make sure I am wearing shoes and socks. Don't worry, my friend, I won't embarrass you. But as soon as I leave those meetings, it's back to my usual, more comfortable, and more unusual attire.

What's happening out there in the financial markets and in the economies of the world? Things are falling apart. I have been writing for years about the excesses of our governments and about the foolishness of those investors who assume that there will always be a greater fool to buy their overpriced homes and stocks and other investments. There are interesting times ahead, folks. Strap yourselves in for a bumpy ride.

I'm ready. That doesn't mean, however, that I will enjoy the experience as things fall apart around us.

We're human beings. We never appear to learn from the past. It's a pity.