With the current economic meltdown and continued dire forecasts for the near and far future, one cannot help feeling miserably depressed. Even if you don't possess a large stock portfolio, the chances of you being scarred in some way by this historic mess are invariably quite high.

We have an only child whose paltry college fund just lost $1,000 in one short quarter. That may not seem like a lot, but when you have a mere $20,000 in the fund to begin with and your daughter is nearing the end of her senior year in high school, the clock begins to tick loudly in your ears. Colleges can cost tens of thousands of dollars a semester and when that equation finally sinks in, it hits you right between the eyes, let alone your pocketbook and self-esteem.

The domino effect spreads quickly. That hallowed homestead you thought to be your nest egg is now your white elephant. Your job you thought secure is now in grave danger. You get e-mails from once upwardly mobile friends telling you they were unfairly laid off. Once solid companies such as Circuit City declare bankruptcy while Linens 'n Things and Sharper Image close their doors forever. Even Starbucks starts downsizing in such a volatile economy. All this and more adds to the growing fear and global angst as we now know it.

This kind of catastrophe also has physical and mental implications. People become depressed easily and need therapy, thus, expensive medication. Depression also takes a physical toll on the body causing deterioration to yet another organ, namely the heart, which can be strained by stress-induced high blood pressure and an overlooked, cholesterol-laden diet. People start choosing between heating oil or their medication.

It's all enough to make you want to scream to the heavens! What happened to the simple joys of life like taking a walk in the park? We now walk to the unemployment office instead. What about relaxing at a corner café, sipping a latte and reading the New York Times? Maybe we no longer can afford $4.80 Frappuccinos. And if we could, the New York Times would only bring us more bad news of economic disaster. What about buying an ice cream cone with all the fixings? Oops, they went out of business. Sorry. A baseball game? Can't afford it anymore. How about a movie? Nope. That costs an arm and a leg these days and all the offerings have dark Armageddon-like themes like "An Inconvenient Truth."

STOP! HOLD THE PHONE FOLKS! HAVE WE JUST ENTERED THE TWILIGHT ZONE?! Not quite yet. Gasoline just hit $1.76 in some places. That's great news, though some experts say the dropping price in fuel inexorably drives home the fact that we are in deep trouble! Overlook that for a second and let's try, hard as it may be, to look on the positive side for once.

Get in the car with your family and go on a road trip. Don't forget to stop at a national park and see what makes America great in the first place. While you're there, take the family on a nice long hike, reminiscent of your walks in Central Park. It's good for the soul and good for the body. In your travels, see if you can find a cozy little coffee shop in which to chill while partaking in a reasonably priced latte while the kids enjoy a soothing hot chocolate. In that coffee shop, pick up a small-town newspaper that has some good news in it to mull over. Hey, look at that! An ice cream parlor sits invitingly across the street from the coffee shop and is proudly open for business. Go ahead. Enjoy a double scoop of your favorite flavor! If you like baseball, you're sure to find a minor league stadium somewhere in middle America where you can enjoy that favorite pastime experience and still afford a hot dog and a Coke to boot. And guess what? There's still a few old-fashioned drive-ins left that still offer those fandangled microphones you have to place inside your car for sound. That should bring back memories of a happier time. But be sure the drive-in is screening a feel-good comedy and not Robert DeNiro's "Cape Fear."

Oh, and now that you can afford gasoline, put the rest of your savings to use by purchasing your medication again and maybe even join a heating oil co-op with your neighbors to save even more money. Hey, wait a minute! What about that economic mess we were just talking about? Face it. There's nothing you can personally do about it except ride out the storm, so why not enjoy life the way life was meant to be enjoyed. With your family, on the open road and not a care in the world! Just pretend that rear view mirror doesn't exist and you won't really give a darn what you're leaving behind …

Atkins is a Cedar Crest playwright.