I have to admit, last week was a bad week. Seeing all those grainy black and white photos of people standing in soup lines during the Great Depression plastered across the cover or front page of every magazine and newspaper in the country was downright depressing. Not to mention listening to all the experts on TV predicting another one.

What makes matters worse for those of us in the Boomer generation is the everyday realty of taking care of our aging parents. Their generation was tough enough to survive the Great Depression, and that experience taught them several very important lessons. Always pay in cash. Never go into debt. Never waste anything; you never know where your next meal is coming from. Save as much as possible.

Our parents were independent people. They hated depending on anyone else and they never wanted to put themselves in that situation. Now many of their generation find themselves living out their lives in long-term care facilities, spending the inheritance they planned to leave to their children and depending on total strangers to take care of them.

In fact, the healthcare and long-term care industries are two sectors that are going strong even as the rest of the economy tanks. From geriatric medicine to joint replacement to home care and assisted living, many of the fastest growing jobs in America involve taking care of our aging population. And as the Boomers age the need will continue to grow.

As I make more frequent visits to see my mother in a long-term care facility two thousand miles from my home, I am struck by several lessons of my own. Never forget to treat people with dignity. Always treat people with respect. A smile gets you much farther than getting angry. Customer service is essential, no matter what business you are in. Life is short and unpredictable; enjoy every moment. Save as much as possible.

Sometimes history has a way of repeating itself. This time, I am confident that as the economy begins to recover we will realize what went wrong and how to avoid it the next time. And although this is certainly a dark cloud, the silver lining may be in the thousands of new jobs, new technologies and opportunities we are creating in the healthcare and long-term care industries.