One-eyed Man Visits Tri-Cities

“In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king” – Desiderius Erasmus

H.G. Wells wrote a short story just over one hundred years ago entitled, “The Country of the Blind”. The basic premise is as follows – a seeing man finds his way to a land wherein everyone is blind, and has been blind for generation upon generation. He tries to explain that he can see, but they don’t understand what seeing means. They’ve never heard of vision. They don’t know what he’s talking about. What’s more is that they don’t think this seeing thing is that big of a deal. They’ve been surviving living thriving for decades, and they don’t understand why anyone would need to or want to see.

I felt like a resident of the Country of the Blind this morning when I read the following headline in the Tri-City Herald – Existing Home Sales Drop in Tri-Cities

Um, really? I am extremely busy. My colleagues are busy. And it’s not the busy you try to assume so that you’ll LOOK like you’re busy and hopefully-something-will-come-from-it busy. It’s the not-having-eaten-since-breakfast-but-now-it’s-3:30-p.m.(and now you’re STARVING!) but-you-have-too-much-to-do-to-eat busy.

So, yes, building permits are down from the averages by this point in years past. And, yes, people are worried about the house with the unkempt yard down the street (“…are they on the verge of foreclosure?” they wonder). And, yes, loan requirements are more strict because now everyone with a pulse cannot buy a house.

But there are houses to be sold and buyers to buy them, and they’re not living in a mythical country, they live where I live – the Tri-Cities of Washington. And they’re calling me and e-mailing me and they’re ready to go. And so am I.