Hello friends. Where have I been during this mess? For one, I’ve been staying calm and remaining very focused and working very hard. The pundits are working 24/7, the central bankers are wringing their hands, and Iceland (yes the Country) has declared bankruptcy. What happened? Everyone was drunk on the excess of extremely loose credit and no amount of aspirin is curing the headeache and the puking.

And then I open the local paper, the Berkshire Eagle, and as clear as day Greylock Federal Credit Union has advertised on an entire page – “We have $100 million to lend” – They are solvent and thriving!! Wow – this local thing really does make sense – they didn’t sell their mortgages, loaned money in a market they understand and are happy to loan money to people they know. Seems so simple.

So as the world financial markets spin out of control, the Berkshires seems to function in its own orb. I hope it continues.