A clear economic picture

A Friday evening run-in captured with crystal clarity the state of the economy, better even than a 2,000-word report from the Wall Street Journal.

Grabbing a quick smoothie from the Safeway Jamba Juice, I struck up a conversation with a lovely woman working the counter. She was all smiles, even though she was consigned to a weekend at work.

Why? She had a job.

She (I regret now that I didn't have my reporter's notebook to jot down a name and tell her story properly) graduated not two years ago with a master's degree and had spent the interim time searching for a job. The response she got more than not was, "You're too qualified." "You're not qualified enough," she said, was a close second.

To simply have a full-time job now, she explained, is a blessing.

It's as clear as that.