Checking in… and a hug

You are probably expecting one of Dave’s amazing “valium grams”. But today you get to hear from me. And I’m writing about anxiety. This Coronavirus situation is scary. I’m a bit scared. And I don’t know where it is going to go (“I’m not a Doctor and I don’t play one on TV.”). But I know that over the 37 years I’ve been in this profession, we’ve seen a lot of these situations. I’ve been around for every one of these.

There remains only one thing that we know to be true (ignoring death and taxes for our purposes here ). Human beings, ESPECIALLY American human beings, are resilient. We don’t stop feeding our children, going to work, taking care of our loved ones, paying the electric bill, communicating with our community, buying toilet paper and paper towels, showering, eating, going to our doctors’ appointments, baking birthday cakes, and simply living our lives. We just don’t stop. And living life is what fuels the world.

Will we have a recession? I don’t know. Maybe. But whatever transpires, we are prepared for it. Your portfolio has many years of cash needs in its very conservative bond and money market holdings. We live in the most prosperous and innovative country in the world. Even when we lag at addressing something, we have the resources to get there when needed. And at the risk of sounding more scary than hopeful, if it gets so bad that this country can’t deal with it, then all bets are off anyways. And we’ve never, ever seen anything remotely close to that happen.

As is always the case, let’s focus on the things we can control. Your resilient portfolio is one of those things. We also can harness our understanding of risk management. The Coronavirus might be a huge risk. It is also a low probability risk. But being a potentially huge risk it must be addressed. It also requires very little to mitigate this risk. In that respect, Yeske Buie is asking its staff to work from home for the next few weeks. We will constantly revisit this decision. Anyone with a meeting on the calendar will be directed to a virtual meeting space. We promise we will address every issue that arises, including if someone genuinely needs or wants an in-person meeting. We are completely available for anything and everything you need. We are simply minimizing our staff’s need to be in buildings with so many other people and our Clients’ needs to be there with us.

So let’s get really technical with some actual recommendations:

• Wash your hands.
• We are researching how to get our Clients to be part of the $15 Million Corona is offering to rename the virus “BudLightVirus”.  (Fake News … but funny)
• Wash your hands.
• Homemade antibacterial is 2/3 Isopropyl Alcohol and 1/3 aloe vera gel. (True News)
• Wash your hands.
• Tito’s vodka does not contain sufficient alcohol to be a good antiseptic (even though it makes a darn good vodka martini or vodka tonic). By the way, this statement is, in fact, evidence based.
• Wash your hands.
• All Shakespeare companies will be featuring Macbeth this season so we can all relate to Lady Macbeth.
• Wash your hands.
• With the purpose of Appreciative Inquiry, think about how bad 2008-2009 felt. We thought the world was coming to an end.  It was horrible.  And the world didn’t come to an end. We took a breath. We tightened our belts. We spent time with loved ones and tried to Live Big in Trying Times. And we recovered. I personally don’t think this situation will come close to how difficult that one was. But whatever happens, we can handle it.
• Wash your hands.
• Many of our Clients and other dear friends are suffering with various health and family situations. I am going to say a prayer for them every time I get worried about the Coronavirus. That just feels more productive and helpful than does worrying.
• Wash your hands.

If you think I’m being Pollyanna, let me know. If you think I’m feeding the fear frenzy, let me know. This is the only way I know how to reach out and hug so many people about whom we at Yeske Buie care so deeply. So no matter what, consider yourself hugged.

And finally, what?  Wash your hands!!!!