We have made it to another year and I sincerely hope you all had a very merry Christmas Day and will enjoy a blessed and not too austere 2011, mindful to always give thanks and prayers in whatever manner you so do.
In terms of commercial activity, from the established to the wayside, I was happy to see, during the final week, a return of the traditional Christmas shopping spirit in Bridgetown, shopping centres, malls and other business areas around the island.
I, too, got caught up in what was definitely a last-minute rush to buy presents and other stuff with what started out as a short list that I could count on the fingers of one hand, but ended up so long that I had to store it on my BB for easy reference.
Recession or no recession, I enjoyed spending my money and was very happy to see so many people spending theirs as well, for two reasons. The first was that as long as I can remember, parents, preachers, teachers, ministers of Government and other persons have advised us not to spend everything we work for but to “always save something for a rainy day”.
Every generation has heeded that advice to a man, as reflected in the over-abundance of savings in our financial institutions. Just check the Central Bank and see the millions on top of millions we as working people have stored in banks, credit unions and so on.
The problem I have with the saving-for-a-rainy-day talk is that whenever a rainy day does come, as is the current recession, the same wise men change the direction of their mouths, like weather cocks in a storm, and condemn us for digging into our nest eggs in order to clear away the dark clouds and allow the sun to shine through into our lives.
Among the loudest voices are some men of the cloth, who see the devil with one hand in our wallets and the other in the seat of our pants leading us down to his fiery domain whenever we spend our hard-earned money on material things, entertainment and other activities that make life as enjoyable and comfortable as possible, especially at this time of the year.
Somebody will probably “pray” for me for saying this, but in my entire life I have never heard any of these prophets of gloom and doom making certain suggestions that would help people retain a little bit more of the rainy day savings. Suggestions like a whole no-tithing year, no-collection Sundays, no organ-fund weeks, and no building-fund months, and so on.
Anyway, the other reason I was happy to see so many of you out spending in Bridgetown, Sheraton, Tudor Bridge, Green Hill, Carlton, Six Roads, Hastings, Holetown, Warrens, Speightstown and all the other commercial nooks and crannies was the fact that without such spending, there is no circulation of money in the economy. The end result would be a new year of more business closures and layoffs than anticipated, with all the negative actions and reactions that would follow.
So gird up your loins and prepare for some potholes during the coming months. But we have travelled this rocky route before and have always ended back on barber green. So be of good cheer. God bless.
• Al Gilkes heads a public relations firm.
