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When I was walking Lucy this morning, I came across something I’m seeing more often these days. On a street just around the corner from me, a man from the city water utility was at a house to turn the water off. He shut off the meter and left a bright red disconnect tag fluttering on the front doorknob for all the world to see.

People have had money problems ever since there were people and money. Even in good economic times, some people struggle and have trouble paying their bills. With some, it’s a moral failing. With others, there are psychological issues at work. But I’m seeing more people today whose lives are being slammed by the economy who don’t fit the traditional categories. These are people who’ve worked hard and planned their lives, following the advice that responsible people gave about how to make it in the world.

It turns out that much of that advice means nothing today, because nothing seems to work today in the ways “the experts” had expected.

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I can’t seem to escape children lately. It’s not that I’m trying to avoid them, but I seem to see them everywhere I go — happy children and proud parents full of love for those kids.

I don’t have any children yet, but I really want them. Given the circumstances of my life, I might never have any. I’m told that having the right woman agree to be the mother of your children is one of the prerequisites — and that part is beyond my control.

The closest things I’ve had to kids have been my nieces, Katherine and Anna, and my animals, too numerous to mention by name. (The picture above is about four years old. Anna’s the one on the left with the huge grin. The picture below is Anna with me at the Birmingham Zoo.) They live three hours from me, so I don’t see them as often as I’d like, but I love them very much and I’m proud of them. They’re wonderful girls.

Still, I’d like to have my own family. I bring this up partly because the subject of children and family keeps coming up in my life lately, but also because I was thinking about something related to it over the weekend.

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Now that the dictatorial regime of Muammar Gaddafi is ending, we’re starting to see some people suggest that the outcome is a vindication of Barack Obama’s policy in Libya.

Let’s review the facts. First, Gaddafi was a dictator and he wasn’t an especially sane or pleasant man. Second, there are plenty of other countries run by unpleasant men. (They almost always seem to be men, don’t they?) Third, Libya had not attacked the United States or any other country.

Under these circumstances, there’s no sane reason for the United States (and other foreign powers) to send their military forces into the country to topple the government. It might make us all feel better — at least until the next guy becomes Dictator of the Week and arouses an outcry.

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