Bob Cramer's Blog

Neither the bang-bang, back-to-back, bad news of last Thursday’s 500-point stock market plunge followed by Friday’s historic downgrading of the United States credit rating succeeded in taking my breath away more so than my Saturday’s spin on “Leap of Faith”, the signature water slide at the supersized Bahamian resort, Atlantis, where I just spent a long-planned, long weekend celebrating a big family occasion.  Yes, “The Leap” includes a freefall drop resembling the past two weeks of Wall Street, and a fast journey through a tank of live sharks, not dissimilar from the Washington debt ceiling feeding frenzy that we just chillingly witnessed during these hot summer doldrums.   Fortunately, the water slide produces a happy outcome as you are unceremoniously deposited into a little landing pool, heart pounding, eyes finally open, and secretly proud of yourself for overcoming your fears and doubts, perhaps a clue for our leaders to have some courage themselves, come together and give us a story-book ending, a bi-partisan set of plans for our country’s future.

Witnessing the massive number of people frolicking in elaborate pools, fish tanks and white-sandy beaches, and spending money like there’s no tomorrow in the bustling casino, the designer stores and the 21 or so first-class restaurants, some adjoining a huge marina with cleverly named yachts the size of football fields, one feels miles away from our no-growth economy and a country being pulled apart by hardening ideologies and an unemployment rate which refuses to budge.   The thought of “fiddling while Rome burns” came to mind until it struck me that here I was at Atlantis, the supposed recreation of the Lost Civilization of Atlantis complete with original hubris, pomp and outrageousness (in the Cramer history books, Rome and Atlantis were a lot alike). 

There is an irony here somewhere in this mixed-bag blog of trite clichés, misplaced metaphors and run-on sentences, but I cannot escape the parallels of what happened to the original Atlantis and what is happening to the United States now.  But our country is way too great to suffer the same decline, and perhaps this summer of discontent is the wake-up call that we needed.   And the more I think about it, while this Atlantis resort is not exactly my style, I like the gutsiness of the place, it’s over the top: big statement, loud, flamboyant.  I watched a video about its founder, Sol Kerzner.   He took a big risk building this place and judging from the crowds, the occupancy and the prices, it is paying off.   I cannot help but think of the jobs Atlantis creates, the tax income it generates, and the source of pride and trickle effect it has across the entire Nassau, Bahamas economy.

Back home in the ATL, ready to start a new work week against a backdrop of nervous markets and a heightened sense of negativity, let’s remember the power of risk taking, the power of entrepreneurship, the power of building and creating our own futures.   It all starts with a “leap of faith.”