Oddly, the action reminds me of my first few days as a fishing guide. There I was, a typical East Coast grad student with a vision and not much of a plan.

As I dropped my bags on the dock outside the state’s southernmost airport, I used the change in my pocket to dial my only contact in the 49th state. She did not answer. In fact her phone was disconnected.

Great… 4,000 miles from home and stranded in the rain.

I must have looked lost because a bushy bearded that most resembled the kind I’m used to see begging for change, asked me where I was headed. I told him some basic details and he grabbed my bags.

With nothing to lose, I followed.

Within an hour, I was strapped into a floatplane cruising 750 feet above what would turn out to be my new home for the next two years.

On the dock, I saw a figure.

Little did I know it would be the girl I would marry and who is now eagerly counting down the last four months until she becomes a mother.

For me, uncertainty led to great things. I see much the same for the country today.

Over the last six months, the economic data has told us very little. For the last several quarters, we’ve been told to “wait for next month’s figures.”  Or we heard “this time next year, things are going to be better.”

So far, even with the help of massive stimulus and governmental manipulation, we’ve done little more than tread water. Instead of following the creepy guy on the dock, we’re waiting around for somebody familiar to pick up the phone.

Until, that is, today. Look at the market. It’s in crazy rough shape, cutting nearly two percent from the top indices.

At first glance, it’s horrifying.

But with some careful studying and a keen eye for what it all means, it is fantastic news. Right now, we’re circling over our destination and are closer than ever to uncovering our fate.

For America, until last night, the question was if the country’s citizens would roll over and let a government force us into something highly unpopular. Today, we know democracy still rules and the political power players are laying flat on their butts from a catastrophic blow.

They may get back up and throw a few more punches our way, but they will never have the deadly dangerous momentum they had just 48 hours ago.

For the nation’s economy – here’s the truly good news – a strong dollar and slipping interest rates proves we remain the beacon of safety for global investors. China may be a powerhouse, but when things get tough, we always run to those we trust the most.

As commodity prices plummet today, the prices you and I pay for just about everything from heating oil to creamed corn will follow. Just as inflation threatened to crimp our shot at growth, Mother Economy proves her ability to create equilibrium.

If all of this is sounding different than what you are hearing on TV or reading in the rags, you’re right. It is different. It’s the contrarian’s take. When everybody is fleeing for the exits, we’re holding the door open, eagerly waiting to take what they left behind.

It’s a good idea to be buying what these folks are selling today.

***As a guy that has spent thousands of hours on the nation’s coastal waterways, I have had my share of run-ins with the Coast Guard – all of them good.

To prove that the core of this nation remains strong and true, I have included a press release my friends at the Coast Guard emailed me this morning. It’s a small glimpse of what Americans are doing to help their global brothers in trouble.

Here it is:

The first U.S. asset to arrive on scene to Haiti after the earthquake remains engaged in Haitian relief operations one week later.

The Portsmouth based Coast Guard Cutter Forward arrived off Port au Prince Jan. 13, at about 8 a.m. The crew provided air traffic control for military aircraft due to the damaged and inoperable control tower at Toussaint Louverture International Airport. They also began assessing the port, and ferrying supplies and injured people with their small boat and helicopter.

One of their primary missions was to pave the way for supplies to be delivered into the port of Cap Hatien. They began assessing the port and noted significant damage and destruction of its infrastructure adding to the difficulty of bringing aid to the country.  The Detroit based MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, that deployed with the Forward, flew over some of the roadways leaving the port and verified that relief efforts delivered to Cap Haitien can be trucked to Port au Prince. They also observed multiple oil, fuel and sewage spills in the area.

Monday they were able to perform medical evacuations with their helicopter from the Killick Haitian Coast Guard base to the Sacred Heart Hospital in Milot.

“The flight mechanic talked about two children on the first flight who wanted to hold his hand for comfort,” said Cdr. Diane Durham, the commanding officer of the Forward.

“I am glad to be a part of the relief efforts in Haiti. It is a life changing experience and is the reason I joined the Coast Guard. It feels good to be part of something bigger than myself,” said Fireman Kendall Wilson, a crewmember aboard the Forward.

The Coast Guard Cutter Forward deployed with Maritime Intelligence Support Team 0410 and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Detroit.

In total, the Coast Guard has medically transported 29 critically injured U.S. Embassy personnel out of Haiti, evacuated approximately 662 American citizens and delivered 512 urban search and rescue team members to Port au Prince.

The Coast Guard will continue to support the massive relief effort in Haiti by providing humanitarian assistance to Haitian survivors, evacuating critically injured U.S. personnel and evacuating U.S. citizens from Haiti. The complexities crews face with this massive relief operation are immense due to the magnitude of damage to Haiti’s infrastructure.

Additional Coast Guard assets responding to the area are:

- An HC-144A Ocean Sentry aircraft from Coast Guard Aviation Training Center, Mobile, Ala.
- An HC-130J Hercules fixed-wing aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C.
- An HC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, Calif.
- Two HC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft from Barber’s Point, Hawaii.
- Two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews. They are from the Coast Guard HITRON based in Jacksonville, Fla., and Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, Mich.
-Two HU-25 Falcon jet crews from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, Fla.
-The Coast Guard Cutter Valiant, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Miami, Fla.
-The Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Key West, Fla.
- The Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, N.H.
- The Coast Guard Cutter Oak, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender homeported in Charleston, S.C.

That’s the kind of showing that makes me proud to be an American, even if I am contrary.

Like today, for instance.

Everywhere I look, there is evidence that the American economy is in shambles. As investors, the cards are certainly stacked against us. At this point it even looks like the system may be rigged.

But we all know there is always a way out.

As a guide, there was a handful of times when I was positive the outcome would be grossly negative. Like the time a freak storm and its 70-mph winds decided to turn my boat into a submarine.

Or the time I sat in the back of 1958 deHavilland Beaver clinging to an outboard motor as the pilot dealt with the adverse gravitational effects of an overloaded plane caught in a mountainous downdraft?

Who knew an old floatplane could not climb and turn at the same time? We scared the hell out of the squirrels in our flight path.

Or how about the time an angry black bear nearly itched a scratch on my back? My colleagues have heard that story more than a few times.

And then there’s the trip that involved a naked Irishman, a bottle of expensive scotch, a broken canoe and a set of waterfalls called the “Devil’s Washboard.”

It’s no wonder my wife has a casket salesman on speed dial.

Beside the fact the naked Irishmen was a trader for a major hedge fund, these little “learning experiences” have little to do with investing.

Unless, that is, you believe the current market environment is the equivalent of being on the brink of death.

I happen to believe exactly that.

Look at the news today. I’d take my chances with a hungry bear than re-read today’s layoff headlines.

Thanks to its merger, Black & Decker is “trying” to keep its job cuts below 4,000. Nokia Siemens is axing 5,700 workers. Johnson & Johnson is cutting 7% of its workforce. Royal Bank of Scotland is cleansing its headcount by 3,700 workers.

While the markets bank on recovery, the facts are screaming something totally different.

The gold markets offer similar evidence of an impending fight for survival.

Thanks to word that India is the IMF’s mystery gold buyer (to the tune of $6.7 billion), gold prices made a massive stretch into record territory today.

India making a 200 metric ton purchase, there’s just over 200 tons left before countries looking to hedge their stack of greenbacks have to hit the volatile spot market.

You can bet Beijing is paying attention to the news. Gold prices will not stop climbing at $1,100 per ounce and it has some buying to do.

Finally, as if to kick us while we are down, Australia went ahead and raised its key lending rate by another 25 basis points.

Pretty soon, investors won’t have any choice but invest outside the States.

Fortunately, my time on the water and in the air helps proves, pardon the cliché, where there’s a will there’s a way.

The mere fact I have all my limbs and enough blood to keep my heart primed is testament to man’s ability to find a solution.

If you are reading this newsletter, you are already wise to many of the solutions necessary to overcome a ferocious bear like no other.

Do not hesitate to enact those measures.

Believe me, when the pilot yells, “brace, brace, brace,” it’s too late to find cover. You need to strap on the parachute before the squirrels are screaming.

*** Speaking of finding protection. How about a set of triple-digit gainers during a week when most investors were looking for a pillow to cry into?

That’s just what TFN Strategic Trader members were handed this week as the three plays I recommended to take advantage of the natural gas industry’s impending downfall soared in value.

Last I looked, the trades were good for gains of 228%, 177% and 33%.

It is not to late to get in on the action.

Get this little factoid: Year-over-year gas rig counts have been down by over 50% for six months, yet onshore production is down by just 0.5%. It proves we are getting too good at pumping natural gas from the ground. Now the industry is paying dearly.

As I write, natural gas is trading for $4.87 per MMBtu. It’s headed back to $2.50 real quick, real soon.

Read my full report and get in on the trades here.

*** Finally, keep an eye on that news from Warren Buffett today. He’s giving Burlington Northern investors a choice: take $100 cash for each share or trade them for shares of Berkshire Hathaway.

I’d take the cash and run.

If enough investors make the same move, it is a surefire sign of growing fears of a downturn. When Buffet gives the nod on a 50:1 split, you know a storm is brewing.

For me, it’s any port in a storm.