Sure there are shining new housing developments for the middle class, and more are going up every day in and around all of the major cities.
Because everywhere I go, there are shining eyes.
In the cosmic cast of characters, there are shining stars and an assortment of planets orbiting some of those stars like bit players.
There are shining exceptions, such as the movies of Ken Loach and Hugo Blick's brilliant TV series, The Honourable Woman, which tackled the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian situation.
Indeed, there are shining examples of small, well-devised retraining programs around the United States that have strong records of placing low-income, at-risk workers in employment, in good economic times and bad.
Where there were shining lights, now there are empty seats.
While there are shining examples, there are few who stand out like the veteran Australian journalist John Pilger.
Yet, despite this research, there are shining examples of young Latinos launching technology companies for "good," becoming social entrepreneurs.
Unfortunately I have traveled down both sides of this potholed street, but on each path there were shining green lights after all the roadwork was completed.
The sun is shining, there's a weekend to look forward to and, for me, a tent to pitch on a field in Hertfordshire.
