What, us worry? Let’s find other things to occupy our minds

OK, it seems important at this particular point in time to offer some advice. It probably would be best if we didn't get too obsessed with this whole financial meltdown thing.

Granted, it's a serious situation that is going to affect everyone before everything is said and done.

But we also need to realize that there's not a whole lot any of us ordinary folks can do to stop the skid or alleviate any of the awful side effects. Actually, there's not a lot that anyone can do.

So what's the use of worrying about something that you can't control?

Well, we all know the answer to that question. Worrying is just something that we do. And we do it real well most of the time. And a lot of what we worry about is stuff we can't control.

Maybe then, we need to say it another way. Let's try not to have excessive worrying. Let's find other things to take our minds off this 900-pound gorilla that is jumping up and down on our collective chests.

For instance, what did you think about that big UT-OU football game Saturday? Football is always good to distract people from less palatable subjects. How about them Cowboys, too?

And have you noticed that gasoline prices are going down? It wasn't long ago that we were obsessing over the hole a tank of fuel put in our budgets. Now that just seems like a minor annoyance. So what if the bucks we're saving due to lower pump prices are puny beside the paper losses that our investments are taking.

Need another distraction? Let's not forget that we're coming down the homestretch of the presidential election. A few weeks ago, we were tired of hearing all the rhetoric. But now all that campaign-speak beats the heck out of watching the Dow dive some more.

Heck, we might need another vice presidential debate for some comic relief. On second thought, let's just look forward to the next "Saturday Night Live" segment.

Or let's all just sit around sometime and compare our various aches and ailments. Everybody has some health complaints, and an epidemic of hypochondria is better than driving ourselves crazy over the slumping economy.

And here's another distraction that just might work. Pick a television or radio talk show that you really hate and start listening to it regularly. After a while, you'll be so consumed with contempt for the idiot who hosts the show and his/her inane guests that you'll forget about the not-so-slow leak in your 401(k).

Hey, here's yet another keen idea. You may have missed it in the middle of all this Wall Street havoc, but a jury convicted O.J. Simpson of robbery and kidnapping the other day. O.J.! You know, the guy we all use to love to hate. We were fascinated by that celebrity homicide case and how the prime suspect pulled a Houdini. Well, now some measure of justice seems to have been extracted after all these years. Least we could do is consider this sort of retro. You know, like a "Gilligan's Island" rerun without the laughs.

Anyway, you get the idea. Go out and find some reason to think about something other than our financial disaster. Get into NASCAR or pro rasslin', which aren't all that different these days.

Or you might want to start rounding up all those spare pennies that everybody seems to have around the house or in desk drawers at work. You can while away a lot of spare time counting Lincolns, you know.
And, besides, the way things are going, that extra money may come in real handy.