I am in mourning today, because I paid my taxes. Well, I at least wrote the check to pay my taxes and I plan on mailing it later today. I filed months ago, and I am only now getting around to paying what I owe. The funds are not there yet, but that is OK. They will make it in plenty of time. The check has to go to Jeff City, where it will sit for a while. Typically, state tax checks take a couple of weeks to clear. What they do in all of that time is a mystery to me. I imagine sorting is involved, lots of sorting. Normally, having all of that cash sitting in the checking account bothers me. I have to keep reminding myself that it is money already spent. With this payment the huge lump in our fiscal snake should begin to go down, but it will still take two weeks to fully digest.