Mood:
d'ohTopic: "Bank Prank" (5)
Frodo reports that he came to a complete stop while perusing the Business Section of the Shire Daily News. Knowing that more than 80 banks have failed so far in this calendar year, Frodo was quietly scanning the list in order to orient himself to the depths of the dilemma. To find the name of "The First National Bank of Beverly Hills" was almost too much for the Hobbit to absorb, especially since he was intimately aware of the identity of the institution's largest depositor. As do you, dear reader.
"Well, the first thing ya know, old Jed's a millionaire. The kin folks said 'Jed, move away from there.' Said 'Californy is the place ya oughtta be!', so they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly. Hills, that is. Swiimin' pools, Movie stars. . ."
Mr. Drysdale must be crushed, to know that under his leadership, loyal Miss Hathaway (who had the serious 'hots' for Jethro) has lost her job. What's more, since the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC, to you acronym freaks) only insures individual depositor accounts to $250K (that's thousands, in economics speak), the Clampetts have lost nearly all of the wealth they entrusted to the First National Bank of Beverly Hills on the day that they arrived, fresh from their oil strike in Arkansas.
Although their Beverly Hills mansion, sitting in front of the "cement pond," was purchased with cash, it is unlikely that the remainder of the Clampett fortune will long survive property taxes in cash-poor California. The "For Sale" sign in the front yard distresses both Granny and Elly Mae, but it will make the drive back home to Arkansas downright onerous for Jed. Everybody knows that he'll take a big loss on the sale of the mansion, under these circumstances, so the question begs if there will be sufficient assets to even buy back the old family home in Arkansas?
Frodo opines that the American Spirit presupposes the possibility that Jed will one day again be huntin' possum, and a repeatedly errant shot will open yet another petroleum production platform in America's Heartland. The bad news being that oil consumption, and prices, are dropping steadily. In Georgia, according to Frodo, we know a lot about how much it pours when it rains.
