Darnit, scrooged again!  by Dr. Dinar

Sure enough, looks like they scrooged us again.

Another year of wishes, hopes and dreams down the drain.

Here we sit on yet another Christmas Day, even broker than last year at this same time.

How could that have happened.

How could we have fallen for another 365 days of rumors, false hope and endless hype, none of which ever coming to fruition.

Are we really that stupid.

Or are they just that good.

How many times can we hear "You wouldn't believe all the good things that are going on below the strings... oops, I mean behind the scenes!" before we finally wise up and face reality.

The reality of this entirely too good to be true made for TV Hollywood hypefest being all just a wannabe Screenwriter's imagination once again running away with him.

Or them, depending on your viewpoint.

And by them I'm referring to the Team that was supposedly put in place oh so many years ago to keep all of Dinarland continually dazed and confused.

A team of Movie Magicians whose one and only task is to keep us guessing, always doubtful, and never knowing what's actually going on behind the curtain.

And if that is true, then I must say kudos to you, fine folks of Team Screenwriter.

You've obviously succeeded in creating so much confusion that I'm beginning to wonder if even the RV/GCR Committee members themselves have a clue as to where things stand.

Perhaps they've created such a mind-of-its-own monster that they've fallen under their own spell, not knowing which side is up.

What if they've lost complete control of this runaway train, eyes burning in a sea of smoke, leaving no one behind the wheel to neither steer the train nor bring it into the station.

Let alone anywhere close to on time.

Seriously, what is this, like year 35 of this whole "save the global economy, fix the financial fiasco, make everything all better again" campaign.

Maybe more, maybe less, it all gets quite fuzzy after a decade or so.

And why is it that these thoughts become much more prevalent this time of year.

Questions of why didn't it happen?

Who's holding this up?

Why the endless delays?

Have there actually been any delays?

Are they actually working on trying to get this thing done?

Who's going to play the next James Bond?

You know, real questions that deserve equally real answers.

Is it because the Holidays are such a huge marker around the world?

Doesn't matter how (or if) you celebrate anything at all, the holiday season is nearly impossible to ignore.

From the minute the last piece of turkey has vanished from the Rubberware tub o' leftovers, talk turns to the holiday season.

Every commercial, every billboard, every store begins the flashy flood of festivities.

In spite of all that, there has to be more to it.

Perhaps it's mostly because it signals the end of yet another year of life's journey having slipped through our grasp.

The passing of so much time.

Hopes dashed. Dreams unfulfilled.

Whatever the reason, it's difficult not to find this a time of deep reflection.

And it was in such a time of reflection that I stumbled upon the impetus for this message.

With things being the way they are these days, finances becoming overwhelmingly low and budgets continuing to tighten, the wife and I find we're spending more and more time at home on the couch.

Dinners out have been replaced by leftovers and meals that are made for quick & easy cleanups.

Same goes for TV. With cable rates being so high, what once was a seemingly endless line-up of a trillion or so channels has been relegated to the basic default package.

Lets just say that while there are shows to watch, one can only watch so many episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond before you've seen them all.

A hundred times over.

And you quickly realize that you hate Raymond and his so called perfect life.

And with heating bills so insanely high these days, the thermostat has been turned down.

Like, waayyyy down.

Like, to the point where you can't move because you're covered in 5 blankets and under all the weight, you simply can't move.

Down to the point where the fog from your breathe tends to fog up the tv screen.

Which isn't the end of the world since we can no longer afford batteries for the tv remote so every time we want to change the channel, one of us has to get up and do it manually.

Which leads to physical exertion which gets the blood flowin' which ups the body temp.

And while we're there, we wipe the screen off, both front and back, so perhaps it's a blessing in disguise.

Less channels, clean screens.

That's a win/win if I've ever seen one.

After all, one's screens can never be too clean.

Gotta remember to find the positive in every situation, despite how much digging one has to do to find it.

And it was on just such an occasion that I happened to glance over at the assortment of Holiday cards hanging on the wall.

Or should I say wooden post.

We used to receive so many of 'em that they covered the entire dining room wall. And then some.

But these past few years, the economy being what it is, the amount of cards has dwindled right along with it.

Down to the point where they barely cover the post at the end of the kitchen counter.

And to be honest, I never really paid that much attention to them.

After all, they were pretty much the same cards, from the same people.

Mostly family, a few friends, some randoms from work and such.

Never really changing much, other than the family updates about the kids growing older, job changes, pets multiplying, stuff like that.

But when there's only 5 or so cards hanging there, barely any distractions to speak of, it's kind of difficult not to notice them.

And as I perused the post, between fog laden breaths, I happened to notice one that was completely unfamiliar.

One that was out of the norm.

Was it the color, the size, the message. I wasn't sure.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I stood up from the couch, 5 blankets in tow, and waddled over to get a closer look.

As I studied its content I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Could this possibly be real.

Naw, why would they send me a card.

What made me so special that they determined I was deserving of a Holiday notification.

Knowing my wife was in charge of hanging up the cards, I immediately went to her for intel.

Where did it come from?

When did it arrive?

Whose name was on the return address.

The questions came flyin' at her without hesitation but she was more than up to the task.

Turns out it originated from one of the larger Currency Dealers I'd bought dinar from in the past.

My wife admitted to being furious when she first saw the envelope, thinking I was still buying currency.

Hence her opening a letter addressed to me.

To which I quickly assured her that with all of the budget tightening we've been experiencing these past few years, that was anything but the case.

I'm sure it goes without saying that my wife is one of them.

Yes, one of those non-believer types that refuses to even acknowledge this entire endeavor.

Let alone allow herself to even remotely believe it's the real deal or that we're in any way close to the end of this journey.

We've pretty much reached an amicable agreement.

I don't bring up the whole RV/GCR thing.

And she doesn't file for divorce.

Like I said, amicable.

We've reached an understanding of what's in both our best interests.

And that's fine with me. I have no interest whatsoever in purchasing any more currency.

Matter of fact I've sold back quite a bit of currency through the years, all in the interest of survival.

After all, it won't do me nor my family any good if we don't make it to the finish line. Currency or not.

Soon after getting over the initial shock of seeing the card, I began to absorb the enormity of it.

Could this finally be the validity of the whole RV/GCR thing.

The biggest piece of this crazy puzzle.

But something was wrong.

The closer I looked, the more I began to realize that these people didn't appear to be real.

Almost as if they were some kind of puppets.

But I couldn't see any strings. How could that be.

Ahhhh... more Hollywood magification goin' on.

Which, the more I thought about it, actually made perfect sense.

How could they show their real faces in Dinarland, announcing their identities.

Exactly. They couldn't.

So that was all fine and dandy.

And then I saw it. The fine print.

Quickly grabbing my readers (after a decade in Dinarland, my eyes aren't anything close to what they used to be) so I could even begin to read it and sure enough, there it was.

All spelled out for me in red & white mini-text.

"We're really sorry we scrooged you and couldn't get this thing done but we promise this will be your last broke Christmas... we hope."

Say WHAT!?! I couldn't believe my eyes.

I must have said it out loud because the sigh coming from my wife, who was in another room, was anything but undeniable.

She probably didn't believe it any more than I did.

A card... from the RV/GCR Committee... addressed to me.

It's almost too good to be true.

Like I said... almost.

Kind of reminds me of the rumors constantly permeating throughout Dinarland.

But what if it's true.

What if this is the missing piece of the puzzle we've all been dreaming about for longer than we care to think about.

What if this is the validity, the signal that this thing is really real.

And that they truly are working on it behind the scenes.

And that just because we can't see any visible proof of it doesn't mean it's not happening on some level.

Somehow, for some strange reason, I felt better.

As if this so called validity, real or not, has helped to refresh the wind in my sails.

Which, with this time of the year being such a struggle for me, I could definitely use right about now.

And I have a feeling there are many others out there just like me, having serious doubts about this thing being real.

Let alone ever coming to fruition.

At this point we have no other choice than to continue to hang in there.

Nobody would know if we gave up, sold out, and walked away.

Therefore it only stands to reason that we'd be the only ones to lose out.

Is this card for real.

Honestly, I doubt we'll ever know for certain.

At the end of the day, the card itself doesn't really matter.

The only thing that does matter is your ability to hang in there.

To see this thing through 'til the end.

Which, hopefully, will be sooner than later.

From my family to yours, have a happy Holiday Season and let's pray that next year will be OUR year.

The year all of our lives change in ways we could only dream of.

Hang in there folks, it's almost over.

Kindly,

Dr. Dinar

Disclaimer; I'm not a Wealth Manager, Financial Advisor, CPA, Tax Attorney, RV/GCR Committee member, nor in any way connected with Santa Claus, Inc.. I'm simply someone that chooses to believe in the power of positive thinking and on the odd chance this thing truly is real, I want to make sure I'm there at the finish line for my family and I to enjoy it.