You haven't said anything that's offended me so no apology necessary. It's hard for any of us to have the proper positive attitude right now.
I have never seen this severe of a drop in business. Going way back to "81 I remember that a large Boeing order literally kept us afloat for the year. I bet you remember that too.
We were holding our own but slowing until Sept.11 and then the bottom dropped out. It's extremely frustrating that the attack was such a terrible immediate human tragedy and also an unbelievable emotional and economic effect as well.
It looks as though you picked a good time to exit our industry. Do you find teaching rewarding? I'm sure there are frustrations but hopefully there are some rewards and success stories also.
There have been several times over the years that other of our friends have sought to come back to the industry that I have really not been able to decide if helping them to return was really doing them a favor or not. In retrospect I think that most were better off in the long run in another, more stable- less competitive industry.

Let's all have a better year!!
Tom P.-