My friend Dora once asked out loud, If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

Which got me to thinking about how so many people in this town have to belong to country clubs to make friends.  Isn’t that the same thing?  And in this economic recession, it’s funny how some people are just disappearing, not showing up for events and meetings and things. I bet they think they can’t afford to keep up anymore.

Look, the down turn is affecting all of us.  My income is down, even though I still have a job, but I work on commissions. I’m hanging in because I believe in recoveries and I strongly believe that when you stick with things out you come out of it better.  So with a little extra time on my hands, I decided to get an extra professional certification.  Which meant taking a trip to Salt Lake City for a seminar (I’m not a skiier, so this wasn’t fun for me), paying the course fee, then paying the testing fee.  All told, it was $1700.  At a time when I’m stretched thin to begin with.

So Dora told me to look at my Escalade. Not such a smart vehicle when gas prices are high, but it’s paid for (gawd, I miss 2005!). I realized I could get a car title loan with it, and this was a purpose that made sense. So I did it – I went to Palos Park Title Loans, a car title loans store online.  It was easy, they were willing to give me a lot more money than the $1700 (ok, I took another $300 for clothes).  And I can pay it back on my schedule, which is easy.

An education you can buy.  Your friends stick with you through thick and thin – and that includes Dora (not a Palos Park Barbie).

If you didnt know, Palos Park is also near, Worth, Chicago Ridge, Palos Heights, Orland Park and Bridgeview.

By the way Palos Park is near Bridgeview, Chicago Ridge, Orland Park, Palos Heights, and Worth.

I’m really of the opinion that he who laughs last thinks slowest.

Take my stepfather.  Please.  He tried to talk me into buying a new car last year.  Said my old Volvo, which was their car until they gave it to me when I was going to Columbia College, was looking bad in the driveway and that I should get something new.

Well, Pops, that was last year and this is this year.  My job disappeared and here I am, living back at home, with tuition to pay and health insurance and only part time income and some new tuition with classes I need to take now to get a new job. What I do have is my car, with no payments to make, and the title that enables me to borrow against it with a car title loan.  I figured this out from friend who used Orland Park Title Loans, said it was easy and he was right. I signed on, filled out a form, and found out my car could get me $2000 (I only needed $600).

Now I’m back in school, working enough to pay off that loan, and without being too obvious, laughing at my stepdad who complains his car payments are killing him.

Orland Park is also near Palos Heights, Worth, Palos Park, Tinley Park, and Chicago Ridge.

Never do card tricks for the group you play poker with. I learned that the hard way with a group of serious players I met in Blue Island a few months back. Turns out they decided they didn’t like me and teamed up to take me to the cleaners. I lost more than $550 last time I played with them.

Which made me do some fancy footwork with my wife when I got home. Of course I couldn’t tell her about it because she got me to quit going to the Ho Chunk casino four years ago. Instead, she thought I was playing basketball again (ha!).

So getting back to my problem with the lost $550, I scratched around the Internet to find ways to get a loan. In this economy, even with a job and so-so credit that is not always possible. But I found a car title loan company, Hickory Hills Title Loans, where they honored my outright ownership of my car and were willing to loan me as much as $3000. I only took the $550, but it’s nice to know that car title loans are there when you need them.

For now, no more fancy card tricks, no more card games, no more casinos. I’ll stick to the horses — KIDDING.

By the way Hickory HIlls is near Palos Park, Chicago Ridge, Oak Lawn, Burbank, and Justice.