How is the economic downturn affecting me? Don't ask!

Recently I heard someone on TV asking people on the street how the economic downturn is affecting them. I've been thinking about that question a lot lately. The biggest way it has been getting to me is my current inability to even afford a 2009 fishing license. It's seriously depressing.

I'm a guy who uses fishing as a way to decompress and de-stress myself. Ironically now, during one of the most stressful periods I have ever endured, I am unable to access the therapeutic benefits of the Mad River, which I could walk to rather than burn any gas. However, there are far too many people and companies standing around with their hands out for me to even begin to think about spending $20 on something that most people see as pure recreation, i.e. dodging work.

I suppose I could try the ways other people decompress. Just how many times can one person count to ten in a given day without going absolutely balmy? I suppose if I get really good at it, I could put on a black cape and a monocle and try to get a job on a children's show. Oh, wait! They just laid off 70 people. Yoga is just not my cup of tea, and nobody wants to see a 51-year old fat white guy doing a downward facing dog anyway! Golf? Talk about expensive, and I thought the idea was to de-stress!

I think I know what I'll do. I'll talk my wife into having a bunch more children and then we can make a decent living going on all the talk shows and news shows that thrive on that sort of thing. But maybe not. I never did care for catching bottom feeders!