Unemployed at 62, his plight may be a sign of the times (Barf alert!)

bostonherald ^ | 3-11-03 | Margery Eagan

[speekinout]

30-40 years from now-not my problem-

Many of us really do want to leave the world a better place than it was when we got here. If all you care about is whether you "got yours", that's fine. But then you shouldn't vote for or against any proposal that will take effect in the future. Maybe you just shouldn't bother at all - very little of what goes on is "your problem"; maybe zoning issues or leash laws, but not much else.

[speekinout]

We are no longer just losing low skilled jobs, we're losing high skilled jobs.

But there are some jobs that can't be moved overseas - construction is heavy in this area, and almost every site has signs out for "help wanted". Plumbers, especially, and they make good money.

But my favorite story is about moving to CA just after one of the engineering downturns. I was looking for maid service, and one of the applicants was a middle-aged engineer who had lost his job. He bought a vacuum cleaner and some supplies, and hired out as a house cleaner.
He did a good job, but I left CA and moved back some years later. I called his number to see if he was still in business. He was - but in a different way. He owned a house cleaning service that had about 50 employees. He told me that he would never go back to engineering - owning his business was far better than being employed.

[archy]

You may have passed the age of enlistment

Long ago

Though some of us face the cheerful prospect of being in a position where we're subject to reserve callup for life. But for anyone who really wants to serve in uniform and is willing to perform a real service to their country's future, there is indeed a way to do so.

And it's not likely that you'll face combat or particularly great personal risk, though that has happened in the past. But the odds are unlikely of a repeat of that.

-archy-/-