Hail Obama…Fail Obama

Every alternate summer, I like to take my wife and two kids and travel abroad for a 2 to 3 weeks filled with exciting places to visit, especially amusement parks, beaches, restaurants etc.

This summer, we planned our trip to the west coast of the U.S. and as usual, it was as surprising, and a little startling compared to our previous three visits as a family.

California, for me, is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S. This state has character.
White sand beaches in Santa cruz, Animal Zoo and Wildlife Park in San Diego, the rich and famous in the Beverly hills, Universal Studios, Disney parks, the indulgent visits at the finest vineyards at the Napa Valley and small towns that remind you of Europe with their French windows, small green boulevards, decks along the beach with small restaurants with alfresco dining seems extremely artistic, classy and exquisite.

This is where the honeymoon ends.

For the first time atleast in the last 8 years, the mood in the country was not as upbeat as one would like it to be.

Usually, May end and early June heralds the beginning of Summer and preparation for vacations for most American families.The Sun is out all day.
People flock to stores for new summer wear, the flights to various destinations are overbooked, the hotel deals seem like you know you want it but cannot afford it.
The queues at amusement parks, restaurants get longer by the minute and you wonder whether you have come to a foreign country at all.

This year, however, it was different.
Every one knows that the U.S. economy is in recession.
However, what I experienced this time was the biggest casualty of this recession, the Spirit of America.

Long known for the country with the biggest opportunities, where dreams become reality, where you could be anyone from anywhere but if you had the right attitude and dared to dream, you could do it.

Now, it seemed that the biggest fight for them was the fight to survive rather than to achieve. People from all walks of life, the store owners, the working professionals, blue – collared or semi skilled, entrepreneurs or large format businessmen, everyone had a fight to win, a race to run, what seemed to be a losing battle.

Let me give you a few examples. We were waiting in a queue of a restaurant at the Disney park in Los Angeles with our order ready. At the counter, after placing our order, while paying up we realized that we were being asked to pay for much more than we had ordered. Assuming it to be a common oversight on the part of the counter employee, we paid and asked for our receipt to recheck what we had ordered, but to our horror, the employee had printed an incorrect receipt and tore it in front of us. We demanded a duplicate receipt, to which he conceded his mistake and refunded the extra money we had been charged.

Back to New York. I had carried a gadget (a Bluetooth device fitted on a rear view mirror) that my brother had bought on his visit less than a year ago with a full replacement guarantee from Circuit City and wanted me to replace it due to some problem. To my horror, Circuit City had gone out of business and the guarantees meant nothing.

America is known for its deals on clothes, shoes, electronics, etc.
We were at Lee Stresburg Outlets close to Washington Area where you find clothes/shoes of famous brands like Gap, Levi’s, Reebok, Nike to name a few at fantastic prices. As usual, you could see some of the tags in various sections showing you discounts on various items, for example, 50% off or any item for U.S.$20.
After picking up a lot of the stuff that we found reasonable, when we reached the counter to pay up, we discovered that a lot of tags had been wrongly placed. The counter salesperson argued that the customers tend to place tags here and there or sometimes there is a printing error on the price tags, but hello, you didn’t inform us till we checked the bill you had printed and brought it your notice.

So here goes, the real America is desperate. Organisations have closed or are on the verge of closing down. To show sales figures or to keep their job, people have resorted to certain methods which were unheard of in the past.

I do not understand American politics. However, I do understand that when America voted for the first African – American President, they voted for change.
I know it is an uphill task for President Barack Obama to make a difference so soon.
But, as an outsider, I have good reason to believe that the party to celebrate his 100 days in office was uncalled for.

Long ago in school I had heard a verse which made an impression on me. I am sure Mr. Obama has heard it too.

The woods are lonely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to before I sleep…