Rhythm and the Blues

I have tried over the last few months to accept and deal with my inevitable lay off, slated for March 2009, but will probably come sooner. I alternate between the denial, procrastination of looking into alternative work prospects; and generally just cruzin’ for the brusin’. The whole thing has a lack of rhythm.
Prior to the announcement of our demise, things were busy. There was a guarantee that everyday I showed up at 6:30 a.m. there would be something, a lot of something to do. With the agenda full, I set to the business of completing the tasks at hand and left each day feeling I had accomplished a "noble" deed.
As the work slowed because Merrill Lynch and First Franklin were going in two different directions, Merrill being the parent, FF the red-haired step child, there was talk of expected let down and lay offs.
Then "the LIST" made its way into our department and we saw the dissections and flat out dismissal of our friends and foes alike. "Why was that person laid off, they contributed a lot to the department", "She has worked here over 15 years, now what?", and the ever popular, and I do mean popularity contests, "She/he is only staying because she/he knows someone up higher". There was a total lack of sense. The rhythm was gone. The clock stalled at high noon.
This is what greed smells like.
My friends and family looked to me when I mentioned I was in the throws of the meltdown, as if I should have said something! Me!? My peers and I saw it coming in the form of an attitude of "no self denial". Everyone was wooed with false promises and ‘quick sand’ guarantees. All the brokers had two and three cells phones to conduct business. The Account Executives scrambled to catch the next rising star. And the lack of the beat went on. There is a beat that goes, one, two, three, and four. They skipped a couple of counts like where it counts to be honest, forthright, prudent and considerate.
So here we have a lack of rhythm and a lot of blues. Oh, Mr. King would have had a good time with this one!