The road back is a long one

In a way, it's one of those stupid questions like kids always ask on long car trips. "Are we there yet?" Except this particular query, about where our economy really is relative to the nebulous destination of "recovery," is even more pointless.

Sure, we'd all prefer a definite "we've turned the corner and we'll be back to normal (whatever that is?) by next month."

But who's the authority that can say that for sure?

Now it is true that we have plenty of economists and other pundits pointing to "leading economic indicators" and making bold statements.

But quite honestly, this whole assessment of "the economy" is completely subjective. If you've still got a job and some sense of security, it's easy to feel that progress is being made. However, if you're one of the hundreds of thousands who saw their livelihood dry up, optimism is hard to come by.

Even here in West Texas, where the effects of the recession have been less pronounced that in other parts of the nation, the reaction is mixed.

Yes, the price of crude has rebounded. So that helps the local picture somewhat.

Unfortunately, the price of natural gas continues to be depressed. And because that product is so much a part of the puzzle around here, uncertainty will continue to reign for the foreseeable future.

There are, of course, signs that the worst is over. We can all cling to that thought. But it also appears that we have a long way to go before we can even get close to the lofty (and somewhat inflated) financial levels that we had become accustomed to.

So the standard answer, for now, appears to be, "No, we're not there yet. But we're getting closer."