Don't worry, be happy

At our house, we're trying not to freak out over the stock market's crazy behavior.
We don't have all that much invested but we have the money we planned on to see us through our Golden Years.
We munch on our toast and read about the dives, the plunges, the losses, the swings and we try to be optimistic. (Kinda hard when the headlines scream "Mayday!" and guys in the pictures look like they want to jump off a bridge.)
After all, what can we do about it?
There are few options: tear out your gold fillings and convert them to money. (I think mine are sterling silver.)
Marc has a friend who is investing all of his money in Iraqi dinars.
We know other people who've opted to steer clear of stocks all together but they're young and their 401ks never mattered to them.
We've thought about simply demanding our money and putting it into a big sock but the reality is we're too old for drastic measures and not old enough to avoid the tax bite for early withdrawal.
So we sit and watch as our little retirement nest egg routinely breaks and splatters.
We had just about made up for the losses in 2008 before this week.
Now we're back to square one dollar.
Our broker says not to fret, it'll all be fine, just sit tight.
He even called the other day to reassure us.
"Hi," he said. "I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know your money is all right. These things happen and in the long run, it evens out."
My problem is that we don't appear to have a long run option.
In the next five years, we've got to have some money to live on.
I'm thinking we can't count on Social Security and I'm not sure our kids want to bankroll us.
And actually, it isn't really comforting for a money guy to call you to make sure you're not packing your bags.
It makes me all the more nervous. Why is he calling if it isn't painfully serious?