I am very sorry to hear of your predicament, Loretta.  Thank you for sharing such a difficult story with us. I am sure many people can relate.  I know that things have been tough here as well - our revenues are down about 70% from 2004.  The market is the worse I have seen and I don't have a lot of confidence it will make much of an improvement in the coming months ahead.  We keep plugging away and hope each month that we will be able to make it to the next.

I do wish you all the best through this tough time.  There are millions of families across the country experiencing similar problems.  I'm certain that things will get better... maybe not any time soon in this industry, but life is full of other opportunities.  Hopefully, you will find something else that provides you with security and happiness.

You are right about the loyalty in this business... it is terrible that so many of our clients don't seem to care what becomes of us.  I understand the need to control costs, but they are really killing the abstractors with their "cheaper, faster" mentality.  Even if the housing market rebounds, I don't think things will get much better for us.  Even if the volume picks up, there will still be those who insist on working for not much more than free... competition amongst ourselves is part of what is driving the destabilization of our careers.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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