My Neighbor I Know So Well (AmeCan)

Well, It's (Not) Good to Be Home (America)

1 November, 1929

I'm back home again, it's not as welcoming as I thought it would be. For one Matthew told me to leave and fly to New York because I was becoming a distraction from solving his depression. Our own depression had started a little long ago, of course, taking place in New York you'd find it spreading across the United States in about a week. There's millions of unemployed and from what I hear around the office, it's also marking the rise of a certain person in Europe. The looks of it doesn't sound pleasant saying that the man is rising in Germany. What can you get out of a country who's still recovering after The Great War?

Moving aside, I hadn't really had lessons on financing, so it explains why I feel so horrible. Just two hours earlier I was at knifepoint with a kid who demanded my money. If I didn't comply he threatened to stab me with the knife, so pretending to hand him my satchel, I had to elbow him in the chest and run to the nearest taxi to take me out of Harlem and back to my hotel miles from there. Bless me for the location.

While I was packing my belongings, Matthew came into my room with a book in one hand and a latest edition of The New York Times in the other. The book was basically everything you need to know about financing to survive and the newspaper issued the Great Depression occurring in the United States. He was telling me information from the book that linked up with the problems happening in both Canada and the US. I was annoyed at the time because I had only found that out when I was packing. No one told me about the crash before I left.

I was kindly asking him to tell me this later, but he insisted he tell me now. No matter how many times I said to please stop he would keep going. It turned into an argument somehow after, him and I pointing out all the problems in each other's countries. Before I left, I remember him saying this:

"I can't believe I've never noticed the amount of ignorance in you Alfred! You don't know how to listen to others, how to listen to me, in times of economic downfalls such as the one we're arguing over! I didn't even plan to argue with you! All I'm doing is giving advice on how to handle financing and expenses. Not once did I ever insult you on your way of handling this ever-growing national debt! You know what? If you want to ruin your economy more than it currently is, which it is dreadfully gigantic, then so be it! I won't waste my time screaming at a rock. I don't want to see you, Alfred, until you learn how to listen and come back to apologize; make up for the time I wasted. You better act fast."

He closed the door on me after this, it was neither too hard nor too soft. There's really not much left to say now that I've said it all. I guess what's left is to set this whole thing to rest once and for all. Two neighboring nations turned upside-down from a crash. It's funny how our nations can represent us more than anything else. Actually it's pretty superstitious how well we can represent our nations.

I feel guilty for closing Mat off like that, I know I should've listened. He's right when he implied that I had a poor way of handling money, I truthfully have close to no idea how to. That's where my House comes in to save me from dealing with the responsibility. Wait let me fix that. I have my own money, but I don't really focus on THE money that House takes care of because it's not my job. Probably for now.

I'm calling it a night. I'm really tired and need sleep. I also need to think of a way to apologize to Mat for my obvious ignorance. I'd hate to leave him steaming at me, and like he said, I'd better act fast.

Why am I always the one messing things up?

Your keeper, Alfred