Driving home last night on the packed FDR drive in the truck, I tuned into 770 am and heard some startling words from host John Bachelor. He had two experts on from Dow Jones, and they rattled off scary facts that made me shudder. For example, the total dollars held by US banks is a little more than one trillion. And the total debt owed by those banks is three trillion. Yikes! The men were jocular as they savaged the Obama ‘porkulus’ plan, saying it would not create jobs and that there was way too much government spending.

This dim news contrasted starkly with the gaiety of the NY Times travel show. There, nearly 30,000 people waited in long lines to get in, and to walk the dozens of aisles to learn about where they could go for their next vacation. Every one of them was more than likely still thinking about traveling, thinking about that long planned trip, scheming and dreaming about a place faraway.

Despite the recession, thank God there are still people who dream of their next trip, and live in a partly fantasy world about walking down lanes in sleepy French villages, or finding ripe tomatoes in a Tuscan town market. In the Big Apple, too, there was life and vitality–full restaurants, bustling streets, and that unique excitement that night in the city brings.

Yeah we’re heading for some tough times…and we all know people who have gotten laid off, or downsized. Yet if we can all grab that hope, and dream of our next vacation, and go out and spend some dough, hey…maybe there’s a way out.