Alfred remembered the crash of 1929 all too well. His blue eyes were fixed on the stock ticker. The little mechanical device indifferently ticking away all of his wealth right before his eyes. He sat at his desk, feeling like the rug had been swept out from underneath him. He could feel the despair of his people ring through his head, mixing with his own emotions. He slowly reached for his glass of whiskey. Noticing as he held it that the liquid within jittered from his own nerves.

My partner called to say the pension funds were gone

He made some bad investments

Now the accounts are overdrawn

A part of him wanted to grab the stock ticker, toss it at the wall and scream. Another part of him was dying to hunt down every careless bastard responsible for this, lock them up, and throw away the key. Yet, he knew if he did that, he'd be in there with them. He should have seen this coming. He should have been more responsible with his own economy. That thought just made him want to smash his own head against the wall. Alfred leaned back in his desk chair and took a deep breath, the dreaded noise of the stock ticker still ringing in his ears. He knew what he really had to do, go take a walk.

I took a walk

Take a walk, take a walk, take a walk

As he stepped out into the beautiful gardens of his expansive home, and the fresh air filled his lungs, his nerves seemed to settle a little. He put one foot after another, just trying to clear his mind of everything he was feeling. He just needed a little time to himself to compose himself. Soon everyone would be looking to him for what to do. He'd have to try and right the wrongs, and keep everything together as best as he could. As he wandered out of his gardens and into the large field by his house, his heart felt a little lighter. It was a beautiful day, all of the trees had their fall colors, and the sun was shining. As he kept on walking, he felt the steps getting a little easier. Life would go on. Even if he wouldn't have as much money as he used to.

Practice isn't perfect

But the market cuts the loss

I remind myself that times could be much worse

He wasn't going to lie to himself and say that life wasn't going to be easy, but after a violent revolution into being, a civil war, and the great war he'd seen so much worse. He knew he could handle rough times. He'd survived so many times before, even when it seemed like his life was over. He stopped walking, took another deep breath, and smiled slightly.

"Okay hero, go show the world what you're made of." Alfred whispered under his breath to himself.

He turned around toward his house, ready to face whatever may come.