What Kind of Downturn Was 2022?*

I looked up to see the “Dirty 30” Muni bus cross the intersection.

I was just close enough to make a run for it. 

So I ran up Sacramento Street, took a hard right on Stockton, jumped on my skateboard, and pushed as hard as I could down the sidewalk.

And then 10 yards from the bus stop a little old lady emerged from a store directly in front of me.   

Normally the “eject button” while skating is just running off the board.

But she was directly in front of me!

So I slammed my heel as hard as I could into the pavement to brake…

…and came to a stop 12 inches in front of her. 

And as I was apologizing for scaring her, the board slipped out and I fell on my butt.

As I lay on the ground, I was swarmed by concerned passers-by asking if I was hurt.

If you skate, you fall. Period. There’s no avoiding it.

But there are DEGREES of falling.

There’s the 96-year-old-falling-down-the-stairs kind of fall and there’s the toddler-learning-to-walk kind of spill.

Yesterday’s was the toddler kind.

But if you don’t skate all falls look terrifying. So while I was touched by my neighbors’ concern, it was totally unnecessary.

The market decline in 2022 was worse than a “toddler” fall, but not even close to a “96-year-old” fall. 

It was more like a “learning to ride a bike” kind of fall. 

Perfectly normal and really no big deal.

And while I know your portfolio hasn’t fully recovered, in the light of day of a 6.3% upswing so far this year, I think we can start to see last year for what it was.

*No little old ladies were hurt in writing this content