Comments on: Solidarity whenever.

By: brian stouder

brian stouder — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:24:07 +0000

And hey! – let’s not let those bodacious tan-lines pass by without a remark…

This odd woman’s name kept giving me a flash-back, and then (thanks to the Google) I found this -

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064840/

a fine old movie, which really has nothing at all to do with a moth-like woman drawn to the flames of a piece of human wreckage like OJ…except that ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ sort of echoes with Miss Christie Prody (to me)

Maybe her eventual tell-all book will be called The Slime of Miss Christie Prody (subtitle – Not a Slut, and Not Yet Slitted by OJ)

By: alex

alex — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 03:17:40 +0000

I remember my first downsizing. What was even harder to take than the news was the job search consultant they had us meet with on the way out the door. We were told to go to this woman’s office the next day for tips on résumés and interviewing, a free parting gift.

The consultant’s advice? Don’t admit to any prospective employer, no matter what, that you’ve been laid off. Lie.

So not only did we get the bum’s rush but the most bum advice I’ve ever heard.

By: nancy

nancy — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:58:52 +0000

Or as we sometimes said at the News-Sentinel (where we got no goodbye packages): The living will envy the dead.

By: Colleen

Colleen — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:44:53 +0000

Mary, my mom survived a lot of downsizing at Lincoln National, and she said after awhile it was like surviving a plane crash. It was just a terrible environment for a period of time, and while you’d be glad you made the cut, you’d feel terrible for those who didn’t.

Actually, both of my parents were retired, rather than retiring when they were ready. Dad’s company (a commerical printer) closed…see ya, sayonara, later, don’t let the door hit ya. Mom got eliminated when LNC moved their HQ. She got a decent, very fair, goodbye package. But that’s not to be expected anymore, I don’t think.

By: LA mary

LA mary — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:28:03 +0000

Very cool, Ashley. I’m envious. We are having a reorganization here at the hospital which has everyone in a crap mood. I don’t know if I’m safe or for how long. I know at least six in my department who aren’t, who will lose their jobs within a year. All of them are very long term employees, all in their fifties.

By: Julie Robinson

Julie Robinson — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:58:37 +0000

Yes, he had a GPS but it didn’t work properly to help guide him, so he had to buy his own. Because he was totally on his own as far as finding his way. In more ways than one.

By: MarkH

MarkH — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:54:19 +0000

And, Julie, those trucks (at least the major companies’) have GPS satellite tracking now, so they always know where the rigs are, and if the drivers are on THEIR schedule. They tout it in their tv commercials as an efficiency thing for transporting your goods, but, of course, it comes at a price for the drivers. (“What are you doing in Tulsa?! You’re supposed to be pulling into Waco right now!!”)

By: Julie Robinson

Julie Robinson — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:19:23 +0000

I’m sorry to tell you this, Brian, but those jobs are crap, too. One of our good friends loves to drive and travel and took the bait after his divorce. He was miserable. Always tired, never able to eat healthily, never knowing when they would call him in. The company he worked for was supposedly one of the honest ones, but bent all the rules about time on the road. If his shift ended in Indianapolis, that’s the time they used towards when he could drive again. Never mind that he had to get back here before he could sleep. And he had to pay for his own training, too.

There is no job security anywhere and there are almost no jobs with the kind of benefits the auto workers get. Most of the middle class is going backwards and will never get to fully retire. And we are bankrupting our country in Iraq.

Yesterday a volunteer where I work told me about her son-in-law, who has been on four tours of duty in Iraq/Afghanistan. Nice guy, devoted to his wife and son. But this last time he came home, they could immediately tell something was wrong. Sure enough, he exploded, picked her up and threw her out of the house. Her arm was hurt but fortunately not broken.

Now the wife and son (who is 10 and witnessed the whole thing) are living in a FEMA trailer and everyone is going to counseling. How do they fix him? He is broken just the same as if a limb had been blown off. I just want to scream when I hear these tales. Mr. Smug Idiot in the White House is ruining everything.

By: brian stouder

brian stouder — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:34:26 +0000

Well, as I steam toward 50 and beyond, I was heartened to see that over-the-road trucking firms snap up guys my age, and pay starts at approximately $50k. (it seems that older guys listen to instruction and follow the rules, and take care of the equipment, and don’t drive like they’re in a race against the world)

The job I have is a good one – but who knows what tomorrow holds?

By: ashley

ashley — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:16:20 +0000

You know, I was kinda worried about my job, until one of my employer’s lawyers missed a sentence in this press release.

“Granting tenure is a guarantee of lifetime employment.”

Now, I’m golden. Although my health care is as much as everybody elses…