Lots has happened around HORIZON this year, as it always does. Most importantly it was a year where some sense of optimism was felt within our economy and industry as a whole.  I think it fair to say, at least locally in our timber and powdered metal industries, that business owners again have the confidence and incentive to put some personal money back into their businesses.  Former transportation secretary Norman Mineta made the excellent comment:  "there has to be a distinction between spending that is an investment, and spending that is consumption". I believe this is being made on all levels; let's only hope tax considerations follow fairly and logically.     It seems that after four years of global ups and downs, good news/ bad news, winners and losers we have all gotten a bit insensitive to the media hype and just gotten back in the habit of going to work and coming home tired and dirty trusting we did good things. This is encouraging, but a head in the sand attitude is not necessarily the way to go.  There are certainly lots of questions and concerns about tomorrow that remain unanswered.

Probably by the time this is read the election will be past and results as to who will lead the next four years will be known.  At the time of my writing our future leadership remains a mystery, to say nothing of all the questions related to both domestic and global economy.  That's the best thing about tomorrow, we often find the answer to yesterday's questions. The campaign is about to conclude after what seems an eternity of primaries, debates and hoopla.  Throughout the election process it becomes hard at times to focus on the reality of situations. It is possible to interpret almost every issue with a glass half full/glass half empty focus.  I find it very difficult to think along strict party lines anymore.

There are surely many pending issues on the near horizon that can burst my bubble. I will depend on the next president to lead us through domestically, by working with our congressional system and internationally by diplomacy.  Domestically we face potentially higher energy costs, tax increases, settling the next inevitable debt ceiling ... internationally the Euro crisis still looms, as does terrorism.   You can safely bet all these issues will play a part in our continued recovery.  

Josiah Bartlett (Martin Sheen)

Denny Crane (William Shatner)

I've always had  heroes in my life; people with whom I feel a special sort of affinity, trust or admiration, and most importantly whose point of view I respect even if it is different than mine. Some became my heroes spontaneously overnight like Captian Sullenberger who landed the airliner in the Hudson a few years back. Many of my heroes are real but it took me time to recognize or discover them; an artist, musician or figure from history, a close friend or someone I do business with.  My butcher falls into this category.  A few of my heroes are fictitious like Josiah Bartlett (Martin Sheen),  Cpt Kirk/ Denny Crane (William Shatner).  I'm hoping after election day a new hero emerges and it  doesn't  take me too long to recognize him.