I'm almost afraid to write this column.

Afraid for what will come next, and afraid that by the time this issue hits, what I have said here will be hopelessly out of date.

That's how fast things are moving these days. In a matter of days, it feels like, the American economy went from shallow recession to deep depression. Of course, that's just a perception, and certainly not an accurate one, because the seeds for this downturn were sown many years ago by many guilty parties.

And there's a lot of hype and propaganda, too, which makes for an overwhelming unsettling feeling. I woke up last week to find that I was a customer of a new bank. Then, three days later, it became a new bank. Now, for the moment, it's neither, or maybe both, but not the one it was. How to make sense of this?

And as I ponder how this is going to impact the industry we are in, it's hard for me to predict when things will settle down.

So with this terribly uncertain climate hovering over us, we head to High Point.

My psychic side can already predict the headlines about the downtick in attendance. But what I fear most is the mood. Bad moods are contagious, and for a lot of companies, it's going to be a challenge putting on those happy faces.

We are in some twisted financial version of a perfect storm. Add in hurricanes, gas shortages, a contentious presidential election and various uncertainties overseas, and there's not a lot to feel good about.

So, let's try to make something. From our market product preview coverage, it's clear there are a lot of new and interesting products to see this month.

The vendors are staking a lot on their intros this season, and to my eye, that means tighter lines, but ones that are better designed and edited to maximize their impact.

There's still no other place on the planet where you can see the depth and breadth of home furnishings as you can in High Point. So, I'm going to do my best to put on my happy face and take it all in. Maybe we can spread a little bit of good mood.

See you there.