The Daily Feather — Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Psalm 23
I can count on one hand the number of Feathers I’ve opened on a sad note. Today’s is one of them. With the big child in from Austin and the middle and twin littles at home from Culver yesterday, we six made way for our church home of Highland Park Presbyterian yesterday. It’s been nearly a month since our congregation and community were shocked that our Senior Pastor Bryan Dunagan had passed in the early morning hours of October 26th. Though impossibly wise for his age and wholly deserving of the “Senior,” our fearless leader was 44, a gifted athlete and blissfully married to Ali with three young children. A long-time friend and pastor from Bryan’s former Peachtree Presbyterian spoke beautifully from our pulpit yesterday, sharing fond memories. We recited Psalm 23 in concert and sought comfort knowing Bryan is in a better place. That could not stop the tears from flowing anew.
I share this with you so you can pray for Bryan’s family with me. We’ve entered a critical time of the year when we must dig the deepest to find the grace within first. With that, we then mine the compassion and kindness for our fellow man and woman in what can be a sad and deprived time of the year for the less fortunate in love and the blessings of food and comfort.
The inspiration for my sharing, perhaps more than you’d like, is a tone I’ve come across increasingly on Twitter, which is always a great societal barometer. I had reposted a FreightWaves article about accelerating distress and bankruptcies in the sector. The latest headline was out of Cedar Park, outside Austin. Just in time for Thanksgiving, Hyliion, which makes parts to help commercial trucks run cleaner, will be laying off 67% of its workforce, or 175 employees. A follower chided Fuller: “Everything you post/repost or talk about is doom and gloom. I challenge you to say/find something positive about the economy pertaining to the trucking industry.” To this, Fuller replied: “I would love to do so. Unfortunately, the good news in freight, transportation and logistics has been sparse.” There’s something to be said for the “better to be prepared than sorry.” Moreover, we must empathize with those who are directly affected. Behind every headline are people.
From time to time, QI’s clients also ask that we report the good news. While we pride ourselves on being the truest alternative to the sell-side, more than you, we look forward to when the data inflect positively, especially if of their own volition rather than forced by the combined forces of monetary and fiscal policy. How we dream of genuine escape velocity.
In the meantime, a silver lining has become visible.