Reflections on a bridge

Bridges in the city of Chicago are wonderful places because they provide a scenic grand view. One should not shuffle papers, search out lost items in a pocket or fumble with your phone while crossing the bridge. The unintended results of such activity is never positive. Experience teaches many lessons, the most essential is patience.

Sandra Jones' article makes clear that the economy is sailing in very uncharted and treacherous waters.

Retail sales in the Chicago metropolitan market fell 8.7 percent, to $92.9 billion, in 2009 from the year before, marking the biggest annual decline since at least 1985, when Chicago-based Melaniphy began tracking the figures. The dismal performance follows a 4.8 percent drop in 2008, a record decrease at the time, the report said...

The restaurant and bar scene, by far the largest retail category in the city, was particularly hard hit as fewer business executives dined out, tourism waned and more people ate at home. Sales at drinking and eating places in the city fell by $270 million, or 5.4 percent, to $4.7 billion.

Patience