dagblog - Comments for "Boomtoons"

This illustrates why it would

stillidealistic — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:11:10 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

This illustrates why it would be so hard for me to ever return to the republican party. It is just wrong for people to suffer like this, quietly, unnoticed, hoping against hope that someone, anyone who can help, will. The idea that a safety net for all has to be debated, and not just a given, is disgusting. The ever increasing gap between the haves and have-nots is equally disgusting, as is the almost intentional erosion of the middle class.

I always thought that America was the place where hard work was rewarded. Just work hard and you'll be fine.

What a rude awakening to find it is not true. And how sad that so many people, in an attempt to keep from letting the "undeserving" get something they haven't "earned," are willing to let those who have earned and contributed, and now, through no fault of their own cannot, fall through the cracks.

In that our justice system says we must let guilty men go free so that not one innocent one is convicted (not that it is working so well) you would thing it would be better to feed lazy men so that not one hard worker would starve.

I wish I had a solution. The very thought of people enduring what you did, and what ww is, pains me greatly.

I'm glad you gave me the

stillidealistic — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:39:09 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

I'm glad you gave me the benefit of the doubt, because I deserve it. My intentions were pure.

I am so glad that it looks like you may be able to cobble together an income that will not force you to accept a part time job. I do not have ANY blind spots as far as what part time employment might entail, in terms of physical difficulty. But there ARE jobs out there that allow you to sit (toll booth operators, receptionist, data entry, etc.) Are they readily available? Probably not in this economy.

My point was merely to get you out of the house instead of becoming a depressed recluse, and perhaps adding a little regular, albeit small amount, of money into your life.

What you and many others are experiencing is not right ww. It is demeaning to be at the mercy of the cold cruel world, especially at your age, and given that many of your misfortunes were not self induced. I can only imagine how frightening it must be.

Please do not EVER feel like I am judging you, or making light of your circumstances, or having a "get over it" attitude.

You are not in this boat, because you do have marketable skills that may allow you to freelance, but there are many who have no choice other than to either end up on the street, or work themselves literally to death to avoid it.

Still: I took a day to think

wwstaebler — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:58:52 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

Still:
I took a day to think about the difference between intent and inference before replying to your "look on the bright side" remark about taking 2-3 minimum wage jobs if that's what it takes.

I do know that your intention was to encourage me, supportively, to do whatever is necessary to make ends meet. And I appreciate that, not only in the sense of understanding your positive motivation, but also being grateful for the moral support.

Nonetheless, you (and you are far from alone in this) manifest a blind spot when you say to someone my age: "...The good thing about accepting a minimum wage job (or 2 or 3) is that it gets you out of the house and provides grocery money ...."

Stilli: Getting out of the house and having money to buy groceries isn't worth much if I drop dead of a heart attack. And that is a real possibility when almost all minimum wage jobs are physically demanding, requiring at least being on one's feet for 8-9 hour stretches at a time. Add in a second job like that? And then a third? Get the tag ready for my toe and blow on the ink to make sure it dries quickly.
I am not unwilling to work. But if I am to work steadily, into the foreseeable future, I have to be realistic about what I can do, and what I cannot do, literally. Because I wasn't kidding about nearly being broken by the job I had for the past two years -- which required 16 hour days, on my feet, up and down endless sets of spiral stairs, back and forth from building to building... I should have been in great shape, right? Ha. Not when the schedule was day and night, day after day, week after week (sometimes with full weekend duty thrown in) with NO time to REST. It was a killing schedule, for anyone. Witness the fact that a new teacher, a twenty-two year old who had been the star of her college tennis team, started passing out, in class and elsewhere, by December of her first year on this schedule. That I was able to sustain it for two years at age 59-60 (but almost from the beginning, only on adrenaline and a fierce determination not to "fail") cost me far more than it was worth. For starters it compromised my immune system; it also completely disrupted my ability to sleep and, in consequence, it messed with my degree of sanity in ways I did not even see until later.
I am only beginning to feel like myself again. So it would be suicide, in the literal sense, for me to take 1, 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs right now if any one of them required real physical stamina. (Btw, this is hard for me, psychologically, as I've always been unusually energetic and active.)
So I am on the horns of a real dilemma, between a rock and a hard place I share in common with many, many people my age who are unemployed, without the resources they expected to have after a full adult life of working. We're smart enough to work. We have a lot of experience that has value. God knows we're motivated to keep working. But we're also realistic about what we can do.
Short version: unemployment is an equal opportunity condition, regardless of age. But not everyone of every age can tote that barge and lift that bale. Therefore, stop-gap, minimum wage jobs need to come in more than one flavor.

I'm not telling. At least

miguelitoh2o — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:34:42 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

I'm not telling. At least not right now. Ideas and dreams alike are so fragile when they're being born. Nice blog.

Still: see misplaced reply

wwstaebler — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:43:39 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

Still: see misplaced reply below.

Thanks! I'll let you know

Packerfanchick — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:13:18 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

Thanks! I'll let you know when I have them ;^)

Packerfanchick: You may be

wwstaebler — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:50:00 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

Packerfanchick:
You may be 26, but you are WISE well beyond your years. I need to attend your seminar.

I am actually in the process

Packerfanchick — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:38:55 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

I am actually in the process of realizing that dream right now. I am in nursing school working towards becoming a nurse practitioner specializing in HIV disease. I hope to either work for or open a low-income/free clinic to work with poorer people. I will have a meditation room and hold yoga and meditation sessions a few times a week, working on the mind, body, and spirit of those patients. Money isn't a big deal to me anyway, my fiance is an Economist so I leave the budgeting stuff up to him. I grew up poor and my heart is with poor people. I just want enough to live decently comfortable, put my kids through college, and retire on a farm someday. I realized my dream, my purpose and decided to go for it. I've never felt happier and I'm lucky enough to have found that purpose at 26. I've been on a deep spiritual journey lately that has led me away from the confines of the religion I grew up in and into more of an eclectic understanding of life and the Universe. I've been set free and feel the joy my soul has been waiting to share and the love my heart has been longing to embrace as many people with I possibly can.

Hey, Mh2O: what dreams are

wwstaebler — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:33:24 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

Hey, Mh2O: what dreams are you dreaming by the bay?

Hey I do like that more.

Packerfanchick — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:32:47 +0000

In reply to Boomtoons

Hey I do like that more. Thanks for sharing.