Carol Perry: Some perspective on what's really important

On Mondays and Thursdays I drive up to Incline Village. Thursday, I kept delaying my departure to hear Hosni Mubarak's "I am stepping down" speech, but I had to leave to avoid being late. It was a beautiful day up at the lake, the water calm and blue. I left the radio off to enjoy this peaceful scene, but when I arrived back home I discovered that there was an ugly mob brewing in Cairo and Hosni was not going anywhere.

That feeling in the pit of my stomach returned. I have learned the hard way not to ignore that feeling.

I went to the Internet to get an update on the unrest in Egypt and the news banner on AT&T announced "Mrs. Obama wows in 35 dollar dress." The question of the day was "Should Lindsay Lohan go to jail?"

Was I being punked, or were these really the big news items of the day?

That was Thursday and, though Mubarak stepped down Friday, the situation in the Egypt remains shakey.

I am thinking ahead to what might happen if that mob in Cairo gets really ugly and how far could this spread in the Middle East. Sure, I would be lying if I did not think about what chaos in the entire Middle East could do to the markets, but I was more concerned about the people in Israel stuck right in the thick of things. Surrounded by people who have sworn to destroy their nation, what must they be feeling?

Often, being so far removed from all the carnage and death in war-torn regions, we find it hard to connect or relate to what people in conflict zones must go through every day. I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be a woman in the Middle East. Life is so different for women in other cultures and countries.

I know that there are days when I whine about having to drive up to beautiful Incline Village for twice-weekly infusions of an experimental drug that often makes me feel terrible, but seeing those scenes in Cairo, my whining seems a bit ridiculous.

What I am saying is not just that we should feel grateful for our bounty, mortgaged to the hilt as it is, but to listen to our collective gut. If your inner voice says that things are really not fine no matter what the TV news might say, you may want to listen.

Homebound, due to health reasons, I have a lot of time for research. Anyone who knows me or was a former client will remember that I was always surrounded by stacks of research papers and perhaps gave you far more information about your investments than you really wanted. I wanted to make sure that my clients understood what they were buying and getting themselves into.

As I research now, I find much that is in direct conflict with news reports. Getting accurate, factual data should not be difficult, but sources are becoming opaque.

My reason for writing this column is not political. I have nothing to sell and am not running for office. I just try to cut through the BS and provide the reader with perhaps some valuable information they can use in their lives.

Today, I just want to provide a bit of perspective.

• Carol Perry is a retired financial consultant and has been a Northern Nevada resident since 1983. You can reach her at carol_perry@world

net.att.net.