I have to admit it: It’s hard to get excited about job-hunting in journalism, not only because there are so few of them available, I just know what all the job-listing language is really saying. Plan, coordinate, assign and edit = answer to vague directives from on high, struggle to translate them to assignments that can be understood by freelancers, beat the bushes for a few writers who are both a) literate and b) willing to work for peanuts, hector them until the pieces are done, try to shape them into what you really wanted, mail out tiny checks.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Meanwhile, when I think of what I want the next chapter in my work life to be, I find myself inspired by…well, this guy, who was the subject of a Wall Street Journal A-hed story way back in the day. He’s an Ohio U. grad, a few years ahead of my time, whom I met and chatted with at one of our college-newspaper reunions. He’d been the Israeli correspondent for the Dallas Morning News and was among the very first to be downsized. So he took his considerable portfolio of skills and ended up PR guy/day manager of one of those mega strip clubs that the Sun Belt is so famous for. Now that’s a goddamn transition.
As I come to the end of my career, I want my work to encompass more experiences outside journalism, not another office staffed by the depressed and overworked. The websites I’ve been examining for jobs this morning include casinos, professional sports, and if anyone knows some URLs for what a friend describes as Big Marijuana, pass them along. (Big Marijuana is gathering on the state’s borders, I’m told. Salivating. They need someone like me.)
However, I’m 59 and realistic. But you never know.
Thanks for all your support. In the end, I think Bridge will move in a new direction, and it’s just as well I won’t be moving with it, because I’d be miserable. My plan for the next few weeks, besides updating my resume, are to restore my sleep, relax, pinch pennies, exercise every day, chip off the eight pounds that accumulated over the last year and listen to my nerves sigh, rather than gasp for air.
So, need to hit that gym yet today. On to the bloggage:
I agree with Neil Steinberg that this piece is too long, but it’s delicious just the same — Matt Taibbi on the Madness of Donald Trump. If you’ll forgive this breaking of the three-paragraph rule, a description of the Phoenix rally a few weeks ago:
The audience seems into it for a while. But it goes on too long. During the campaign, Trump was expert at keeping a hall buzzed with resentment for an hour or so. But he hits weird notes now. He goes off on a tangent about his enemies, it’s not clear which ones. “They’re elite?” he says. “I went to better schools than they did. I was a better student than they were. I live in a bigger, more beautiful apartment, and I live in the White House, too, which is really great.”
Polite applause.
“You know what?” he goes on. “I think we’re the elites. They’re not the elites.”
No one is counting fingers, but you can tell people are having trouble making the math work. We’re elite because you have a nice apartment? Campaign Trump bragged endlessly about his wealth – “I have a Gucci store that’s worth more than Romney” was a classic line – but back then he was selling a vicarious fantasy. Trump’s Ferrari-underpants lifestyle was the silent-majority vision of how they would all live once the winning started. But candidate Trump was never dumb enough to try to tell debt-ridden, angry crowds they were already living the dream.
At one point, Trump ends up standing with a piece of paper in hand, haranguing all with transcripts of his own remarks on Charlottesville. To prove that he’s been misquoted or misunderstood, he goes through the whole story, from the beginning. It gets quiet in the hall.
It’s an agonizing parody of late-stage Lenny Bruce. The great Sixties comedian’s act degenerated into tendentious soliloquies about his legal situation (he had been charged with obscenity). Bruce too stood onstage in his last years for interminable periods, court papers in hand, quoting himself to audiences bored to insanity by the spectacle.
This, too, is another piece that’s on the long side, but it certainly captures the particular blend of soft-focus nostalgia and blindered self-delusion that is the contemporary Confederacy. The Sons of the Confederacy is there to make sure it stays that way:
We linger at the mausoleum of Jefferson Davis, whom my escort refers to as “the president.” “You probably don’t like President Trump, and to be honest I’m not too thrilled with President Obama,” he tells me. “But like it or not, they were president, and President Davis was our president.” I must look skeptical. “Aren’t you the folks who want to go around giving everyone a participation trophy?” he snaps.
The bronze effigy of Davis winks in the sunshine, a participation trophy if I’ve ever seen one. Earnest, meanwhile, has withdrawn once more into the 19th century. Not among these dead, he intones, is Davis’ son Jim Limber, a black boy freed and then adopted by Davis’ wife. “Union troops took Jim Limber away” when the first couple of the Confederacy retreated to Danville, Virginia, he says mournfully. “They didn’t think it was right to have an African child in a white family. But I tell people that we Southerners were way ahead of President Obama: We put a black in the Confederate White House.”
Yeesh.
Finally, on Mike Pence and Obamacare, this:
As governor of Indiana, he implemented the ACA’s Medicaid expansion to great success, modifying the program to address what he perceived to be his state’s unique needs. Now Pence is championing a bill that would undo much of what he accomplished in Indiana, stripping insurance from the very people who received it under his plan. Graham-Cassidy redistributes federal funds from blue states to some red states—but not to Indiana: The bill would slash federal funding for Indiana by $7 billion between 2020 and 2027, denying health coverage to nearly 500,000 Hoosiers over the next 10 years. It is, in other words, another version of the same concept that Republicans have pushed for months: a massive cut to Medicaid under the guise of ACA repeal.
As vice president, Pence has unceasingly promoted measures that would undo his signature achievement as governor. (As of this writing, Graham-Cassidy appears to be dead, but recent history suggests the repeal effort isn’t truly over until the Sept. 30 reconciliation deadline passes.) More pointedly, he has promoted these measures using a rationale he has already himself disproved. Why? Pence obviously wants to remain loyal to his boss and the GOP agenda—but he’s also boxed in by his own past success. If the vice president told the whole truth, he’d have to admit that as governor he showed that the ACA already allows states to “innovate” with “new ideas” about health care. According to Republicans, Graham-Cassidy seeks to solve the alleged inflexibility of Obamacare toward states that want to color outside the lines. But Pence’s own record proves that this problem is simply nonexistent.
And that’s it for now. Again, thanks for all you do to buoy me up at times like this. It helps. It really does.
Mark P said on September 26, 2017 at 11:49 am
I didn’t chime in on the previous post, but let me chime in here and wish you good luck. I would have hated to face a layoff at 59. I did quit at 46 and not work for about a year, and that turned out OK. In fact, things were even better after my year off. You have the qualifications, and I’m sure you can sell those to the right buyer. I’m not one to talk about blessings in disguise — I want them out in the open so I can recognize them — but, who knows? Maybe it will be.
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Heather said on September 26, 2017 at 12:15 pm
I wanted to respond to Suzanne’s comment on the last thread–I think job hunting and interviews are a lot like dating. Any hint of desperation will be immediately picked up on.
But I always try to keep in mind that I’m interviewing the company as much as they’re interviewing me. Do I want to work there? Why would I immediately want to attach myself to a company I know little about?
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LAMary said on September 26, 2017 at 12:59 pm
There are a lot of shitty jobs out there. You describe them perfectly. Alter that description just a little and you get what I’m looking at. I’ve got an interview in an hour. It could be interesting or a total scam. I’ll let you know.
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Jerry said on September 26, 2017 at 1:18 pm
Just to add my two cents (pennies?) worth. My sympathy for the redundancy and my best wishes for a god result. And I think you are sensible to look outside journalism; transferable skills seem to be increasingly important these days and I guess you have plenty of those.
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Suzanne said on September 26, 2017 at 1:19 pm
I agree to a point, Heather, about the desperation thing, except that most people can live without a date, but not without an income.
I’ve been to enough interviews to know that during the process, you & the employer are checking each other out, but when you are desperate, and knowing that after 6 months of unemployment, most employers won’t even bother with you, it’s hard to not think that although the job seems like a bad fit, at least it will provide an income for a while. Kind of Maslow’s hierarchy in employment. When your income needs aren’t met, you can’t move on into concerning yourself with job satisfaction. You just need a job to pay the bills.
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Heather said on September 26, 2017 at 1:31 pm
Suzanne, just to clarify, I’m not saying it’s right. I’ve definitely felt that desperation. It’s rough.
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jcburns said on September 26, 2017 at 1:40 pm
Precker! I was afraid it was going to be Rudy Maxa. Or Joe Eszterhas.
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Brandon said on September 26, 2017 at 1:49 pm
In the end, I think Bridge will move in a new direction, and it’s just as well I won’t be moving with it, because I’d be miserable.
What new direction exactly?
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jcburns said on September 26, 2017 at 1:55 pm
Maybe they’re…pivoting to video!
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brian stouder said on September 26, 2017 at 2:11 pm
Again, thanks for all you do to buoy me up at times like this. It helps.
This place has the same effect on me, too; you could say that nn.c is where the buoys are!
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Watson said on September 26, 2017 at 2:12 pm
Nancy, so sorry to hear the shitty news. If you have any interest in chatting about non-journalism freelance writing, I’d be glad to fill you in on my experience. I’ve had my own business for 20 years and work for a wide range of clients — right now I have projects in process for national retailers, a university, a health-care system, a marketing firm, and financial advisors all over the country. It’s a different mindset than journalism, for sure, but I’ve been really busy this year. All my clients tell me that good writers who aren’t flaky are hard to come by.
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Scout said on September 26, 2017 at 2:14 pm
Brian Stouder @10: WINNER comment of the day.
Just read that Graham Cassidy is dead. No vote. We can all exhale now.
Meanwhile President Golden Mullet is still anger tweeting while Puerto Rico suffers. I hate him.
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Suzanne said on September 26, 2017 at 2:21 pm
Supposedly, Pres Golden Mullet is going to travel to Puerto Rico soon to see the damage with his own eyes, but we all know he’ll be looking at the size of the crowd.
And yes, I’ve already had one co-worker wonder about all “those people” who will probably descend on our country to get out of there. I did remind her they are American citizens.
Any of you Ken Burns Vietnam War watchers, did you catch the part last night about Nixon having a little chat with the N Korean leadership to delay the peace talks? And LBJ knew but thought it not really that important and didn’t let the information out? Or did I hear that wrong? I started watching in the middle of that part.
Nothing new under the sun.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 26, 2017 at 3:04 pm
LBJ knew he was lying, but was afraid to call him out on it because Dick might figure out the White House had him wiretapped. Or that Nixon would pivot to announcing the outgoing admin had spied on him illegally. Either way . . . everything old is new again. Again.
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Joe Kobiela said on September 26, 2017 at 3:35 pm
Maybe Kid rock needs a campaign manager.
Too soon?
Pilot Joe
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Deborah said on September 26, 2017 at 5:27 pm
Scout I would really like to exhale but I’m still not so sure, maybe after Sept 30th I can breathe again.
Went to Logan Square for the first time today, surprisingly I had never been there before. It’s a really nice area, before I retired I worked with a lot of people who live there, I can see why they like it. We went to check out a skate park under the freeway on Logan Blvd. We’re looking at skate parks now because it looks like we may be designing one, long story but it’s another project being funded by Uncle J, this one in the small city he lives in north of Chicago. It’s not a complete done deal that it will happen yet, the city really wants it but for some reason the park district is balking at the location where the city (and we) want it. Uncle J is interested in doing projects for young people (like the playground we did a while back), this time we will have some young people participate in the design and fabrication administration, it should be a lot of fun. I’m doing research about skate parks now, there are some super cool ones in Europe, that I’ve found. Good times.
The only down side to our trek today was that it was 90 degrees when we came up out of the blue line and walked about a half mile to the park. This awful weather is supposed to be over tomorrow.
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Crazycatlady said on September 26, 2017 at 7:50 pm
After being ‘let go’ myself, I struggled to understand my identity as a person who is no longer working as a nurse. I came to realize that I did good for my patients and I did the best I could with what I had. Now that I’m retired due to disability, I’m satisfied that I was good at what I did and now I move on too. Best of luck in your search.
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BigHank53 said on September 26, 2017 at 7:54 pm
We put a black in the Confederate White House.
And I’m sure someone paid for him, too, just like the furniture and the silverware.
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Colleen said on September 26, 2017 at 8:27 pm
My husband was let go from a major Fort Wayne media group a few years ago after thirty years there. He was around your age. That was a few years after I was let go from my job and had to reinvent myself. Job hunting sucks big time, but we have both landed butter side up, at long last. You are too talented to not have the same happen to you. Nevertheless, good luck. I know all too well how soul sucking it can be.
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Bitter Scribe said on September 26, 2017 at 8:58 pm
Nancy–I missed your layoff announcement yesterday, but let me say I commiserate.
I’ve been without a job all year. (Merry Christmas, you’re fired.) At age 61 I’m reconciling to the fact that I might have to take early retirement. Luckily I’m single and have no debts to speak of, other than a mortgage I have enough in the bank to cover. I think I could make it work, as long as the Republishits don’t sink Obamacare and hike my health insurance premiums to $800 a month.
There sure are a lot of lousy jobs out there. I’ve signed up for email alerts, and about 98% of them are crap. It’s also weird to see the same companies popping up over and over. Hey Oracle, hey Sears Holdings, ever wonder if the problem is you?
It just really sucks that a talented person like yourself gets thrown out of a job because, AFAICT, they don’t know how to use you or what to do with you. But I can’t believe you’ll stay unemployed for long.
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Charlotte said on September 26, 2017 at 9:05 pm
It’s not a “job” — but I second the book idea about the schvitz. Pitch it!
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Suzanne said on September 26, 2017 at 10:00 pm
This Vietnam war documentary is breaking my heart. So much I lived through but didn’t really grasp. We are living the legacy of the lies. It’s all so disheartening.
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Jolene said on September 26, 2017 at 10:40 pm
I feel the same, Suzanne. Though I was young, I was old enough to know and understand more than I did. Along with making me feel guilty for not knowing and doing more, the Burns and Novick epic is making me even more dubious about trusting anyone in power.
On a less emotional level, has made me curious about how things are in Vietnam now. Of course, I know that many South Vietnamese fled when Saigon fell and that there was horrible carnage thereafter, but, still, it’d be interesting to know more about the how and how much people made peace with each other.
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Deborah said on September 26, 2017 at 11:03 pm
We bought the DVD set of the Vietnam series so we can watch it on our own time. We watched the first one on TV because the DVD set hadn’t arrived yet. We watched the first episode over when the DVDs arrived and have watched one a night since, tonight we just finished watching number four. It is one of the hardest things I’ve ever watched while at the same time being incredibly informative. So far my husband has quietly wept through most of it. When he first heard about it he didn’t want to have anything to do with watching it but somewhere along the way he changed his mind, he ordered the DVD set which kind of surprised me. At the point we are now about 10,000 Americans have died and who knows how many Vietnamese. There are so many more deaths to go, I’m not sure I can stand it. When will the world stop this madness?
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Deborah said on September 26, 2017 at 11:16 pm
I see the wacko in AL won the primary, not that the other guy was much better. But Alabama is the capital of Crackerstan so what did I expect. Apologies to any Alabamans here, I feel for you.
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Suzanne said on September 27, 2017 at 7:07 am
So the President is going to be in Indianapolis today. I hope for massive protests.
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alex said on September 27, 2017 at 7:53 am
Trump is going to hold Indiana up as the exemplar for his tax reform plan, never mind that most of Pence’s books-cooking tricks in this state don’t take effect until years from now and their consequences won’t be known for years further down the road. But the PR/hype part of the plan has been successful for years. Ask any unemployed rube and he’ll tell you that Indiana is the nation’s economic powerhouse.
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Deborah said on September 27, 2017 at 8:08 am
After reading what Roy Moore believes and espouses it seems prudent for the LGBT community to start an economic ban on the State of Alabama, should Moore win the senate race which seems likely. Of course I’m not sure it would make a dent in the AL economy because who travels to Alabama? I sound pretty down on that state, because I am. Thank the lord I never had to live there.
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Leslie said on September 27, 2017 at 8:10 am
Not sure I’ve ever commented before but am sorry you got laid off! Job hunting/reinventing oneself is hard but you are talented enough to find or make something great. I hope that happens quickly because the process is not fun but you know that.
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basset said on September 27, 2017 at 8:16 am
Let’s not be too hard on Alabama, Deborah… there are many rare and interesting attractions down there, for example, this:
http://www.coondogcemetery.com/index.html
and if you’re a deer hunter, Bama will let you hunt with a spear as well as the usual rifles and bows.
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basset said on September 27, 2017 at 8:19 am
Allow me to quote chapter and verse on that, along with another remarkable Alabama rule:
(d) Legally blind hunters may use laser sighting devices to take game, subject to all other regulations if the following conditions are met:
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basset said on September 27, 2017 at 8:20 am
es using centerfire, mushrooming ammunition.
• Air powered guns, .30 caliber or larger.
• Shotguns, 10 gauge or smaller using buckshot, slugs, or single round ball.
• Muzzle-loaders and Black Powder Handguns–.40 caliber or larger.
• Long bows, compound bows, or crossbows in conformance with 220-2-.03.
• Handguns or pistols using centerfire, mushrooming ammunition.
• Hand thrown spear with sharpened blade in conformance with the standards for broadheads in paragraph 2(b) of 220-2-.03.
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Deborah said on September 27, 2017 at 8:50 am
I’m pretty sure I’ve told this story here before (probably 5 times, as LB holds up her hand and splays out her fingers signaling me that I’ve told it at least 5 times before). The summer after my mother died when I was 14 and my sister was 15 we took a solo Greyhound bus trip to the Midwest to visit my grandfather. Being from Miami the bus went up through Alabama, through both Selma and Montgomery, this was 1964. There were freedom riders singing from the back of the bus, it was quite a memorable experience for two motherless teenagers. We saw civil rights in action during the thick of it. I’ve never felt anything but disdain for Alabama since.
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Suzanne said on September 27, 2017 at 9:14 am
I am more and more of the opinion that the US should make a deal with the former Confederate States that they are free to leave the union if they want. Let them sit and stew in their own juices for a few years without the Federal Government support that they so disdain but so need.
Alex @27, I am always surprised when I read about the economic miracle that Indiana supposedly has since we live here and I am not noticing the grand economic uptick and the hoards of businesses clamoring to become part of the fun. Shouldn’t the Hoosier population have doubled by now??
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alex said on September 27, 2017 at 9:30 am
Well, that dollar store warehouse in Ashley got built. Lot of people pulling 20 hours a week who had nothing before, so that’s something.
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Deborah said on September 27, 2017 at 9:46 am
The fever weather in Chicago finally broke, it’s 65 and the high will only be 72. Yay!
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Julie Robinson said on September 27, 2017 at 10:01 am
Suzanne and Alex: precisely. In Allen County unemployment is around 3.5%, yet 20% of the population live at or below the poverty level. I don’t think a part-time job paying $10 or less should count as employment when it clearly can’t support a person, much less a family.
Today will be rough for Mom. We’re getting Jeri’s ashes and death certificates. We didn’t find an urn that seemed right but stumbled across a wood box that looks like a steamer trunk. Since Jeri loved to travel it seemed appropriate for her final journey.
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Suzi said on September 27, 2017 at 10:01 am
My thoughts are with you Nancy. When my son was young and I was pregnant with a second, my company was sold. It was a hostile takeover, and the terms of the severance were sweetened so that I would receive a full year’s salary. It was a perfect time to take a package and a breather. They asked for volunteers to be terminated, to which I immediately raised a hand. (Figuratively.). Because of my background and experience, the new company hesitated in letting me go, and my fear was that I wouldn’t get the package and be terminated. In the end, I did. So this was an entirely voluntary decision, and one that I was grateful had come around, and yet it STILL stung, and I had some unexpected internal questioning about my abilities. Being terminated, whatever the circumstances, is a blow. You are such a talented writer and observer, I’m sure you will find some interesting work. Until then, we are all in your corner, cheering you on.
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Sherri said on September 27, 2017 at 12:11 pm
The GOP is facing a total takeover by the Know-Nothings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-alabama-anti-establishment-wing-declares-all-out-war-in-2018/2017/09/26/96d1f54a-a2d0-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html
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Deborah said on September 27, 2017 at 12:20 pm
We just got a cool bonus from the local Nike store on Michigan Ave. A former student of my husband’s got a job for Nike and now designs shoes instead of buildings. He sent us a discount on his latest shoe that he designed so we both got a pair. I had to buy a men’s size because that’s all they had, the smallest size fits me perfectly. This is the shoe https://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pd/react-hyperdunk-2017-flyknit-basketball-shoe/pid-11598226/pgid-12086676, I love the sole especially the bottom, it will leave cool footprints on our land in Abiquiu. We both got the same color/style which is kind of weird to have matching his and hers shoes but we probably wont be wearing them at the same time. We also got a pair for Uncle J, he’ll get a kick out of them (literally).
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Jean S said on September 27, 2017 at 12:51 pm
Deborah, even though you may have told that story before (FIVE WHOLE TIMES!), I’m glad you told it again, as I missed it earlier on. I have been privileged to know people who participated in those civil rights efforts.
Nancy, I add my voice to the lamentations. Medical journalism (my gig) is still bumping along. Don’t know what’s available in your market–or even if you’re at all interested. Medical PR, of course, is flourishing.
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Deborah said on September 27, 2017 at 1:09 pm
That’s a family joke, when one of us tells a story we’ve heard before we hold up our hand and splay out our fingers to indicate that we’ve heard it at least 5 times. When you get to be my age and you have a limited repertoire of life stories, you forget who’ve you’ve already told the stories to.
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Scout said on September 27, 2017 at 1:13 pm
Deborah @33 – if you told that story here before I missed it. Tell LB that for me! Anyway, that is fascinating. I’m sure it became even more significant to you as grew older.
People like Roy Moore infiltrating the Senate is terrifying. Even if HE can’t be beat, which is likely, we must pound the drums for mass numbers of people to vote in all the other races for 2018. Voting in a Dem majority in either house (or hopefully both) is our only hope to stem the tide of insanity we’re currently drowning in.
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Saint Bitch said on September 27, 2017 at 1:43 pm
“You don’t miss your water till the well runs dry.”
In this case, I didn’t realize what a sense of stability and continuity I’ve been siphoning off from you…or that the ambush to your career would be so personally upsetting. However, like my sister, whose slow recovery is punctuated by joy with each new accomplishment (such as being able to come home after 7 months, or brush her own teeth); you have both the inner and outer resources to approach this new chapter in your life in good spirits…even with a sense of adventure. It’s uplifting, Nancy! I wish I had something practical to contribute, but all I have to offer is my enthusiastic ditto to everyone else’s confidence in the talent, value, professionalism, and wit you will bring to whatever income-earning game you choose to play.
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Jolene said on September 27, 2017 at 2:27 pm
When you get to be my age and you have a limited repertoire of life stories, you forget who’ve you’ve already told the stories
One of my friends once told me that she felt it was an obligation of her marriage to be entertained by her husband’s stories, no matter how many times he told them. Fortunately for her, he was a very good storyteller.
FWIW, I don’t recall hearing your freedom rider story before either, Deborah.
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basset said on September 27, 2017 at 3:53 pm
And I see Garth Brooks will release the first part of his planned five-volume autobiography this fall. Where’s Robert Caro when you need him?
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alex said on September 27, 2017 at 4:23 pm
Deborah, your Nike shoe is stalking me on the internet. Ads for it everywhere. Strobing ads.
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Suzanne said on September 27, 2017 at 4:24 pm
5 volumes of Garth’s life? He’s had a good career, but 5 volumes??
I will pass.
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Judybusy said on September 27, 2017 at 4:26 pm
Nancy, I’m getting together with a writer friend today. He’s got an interesting job doing write-ups on high-level corporate aspirants who’ve had psych evals–routine, not because anything weird has happened. I will get more details from him–I don’t know if they have offices in Detroit. Their a huge company–they have offices in Sao Paulo, Saudi Arabia, Madrid, and elsewhere. He’s been there 10 years and he really likes it. This wouldn’t necessarily be a plus, but I know he gets to winter in places like Savannah because he can work remotely. He’s single and loves exploring new places, so it works for him.
Deborah, I don’t recall the story either, so thanks for sharing. How amazing to see that first hand. Also, we have to steal the hand gesture. Both my wife and I re-tell stories (more guilty, me) and that is a ego-saving way to say, “Yep heard it.”
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Deborah said on September 27, 2017 at 4:51 pm
While I read a five volume autobiographical saga of Karl Ove Knausgaard, the Norwegian writer, I can’t imagine a five volume memoir of Garth Brooks. I suppose it would hinge on how well it’s written. My gut tells me it won’t be as well written.
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Deborah said on September 27, 2017 at 4:53 pm
Oops, sorry Alex, ads haven’t shown up anywhere on my computer yet. Which would be useless since we already bought three pairs.
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Deborah said on September 27, 2017 at 5:12 pm
Of course I spoke too soon Alex, as soon as I went to another site, there was the ad.
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Heather said on September 27, 2017 at 5:53 pm
Well, I just got done with a two-day summit of back-to-back meetings, at the end of which my new/old boss (I commented a few days ago that we had trouble when he was my boss before because he, um, lied to me and so on) told me that the VP had told him I had “some concerns” about working with him again. Thanks, VP! Anyway I was prepared, just told him we’d had our issues but I was happy to do a reset and try to anticipate any problems. The VP also told me I could go to HR as a mediator–said he’d done it–so if it comes to that I’ll do that. At least they know I’m not going to get scared.
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alex said on September 27, 2017 at 6:57 pm
Deborah, I still get ads for the kitchen appliances I bought two years ago, so it’s possible you might never shake that shoe off. I like the look of it, by the way.
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Colleen said on September 27, 2017 at 7:09 pm
Just heard an Npr story about Muncie, IN. They have jobs, and decent paying ones at that, but have trouble finding enough people who can pass the drug test. The company they talked to actually relaxed its “no arrest record” standard.
That said, I agree with Julie—it shouldn’t count as employment when you can’t support yourself on what you make.
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Jill said on September 27, 2017 at 11:11 pm
Julie, what a nice life story for your sister. Jeri sounds like a good person and your writeup was loving. I hope your mom is able to get through this OK. I don’t think anyone’s ever ready to outlive a child, no matter the age.
Nancy and LAMary, so sorry to hear about the layoffs. Unemployment sucks. I hope you both land in better spots soon.
Joe, the path you ran also takes you through the Cook County Forest Preserve’s River Trails Nature Center which does some fun programs. There’s a pretty little cemetery next door, too. Once you are in it you’d have no idea you’re on Milwaukee Avenue. Worth a look if you’re at the Hilton again.
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Diane said on September 28, 2017 at 12:24 am
Nancy,
So very surprised and sorry to hear about your job. That just sucks. But you are very talented and will make something good happen as you move in to the next phase of your career.
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Connie said on September 28, 2017 at 7:06 am
Your Schvitz article is featured in Deadline Detroit today, you are quoted and named.
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alex said on September 28, 2017 at 8:18 am
And in case anyone missed it, Hugh Hefner has gone on to the big muff in the sky.
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basset said on September 28, 2017 at 8:24 am
Back to the Confederates for a minute… join this bunch and you’re not just some nobody with a Harley, you are Confederate Mechanized Cavalry and riding in the hoofprints of Forrest:
http://www.csascvmc.org/
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ROGirl said on September 28, 2017 at 8:43 am
I enjoyed Matt Taibbi’s description of Trump as a “boar with a boner.”
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on September 28, 2017 at 8:52 am
Don’t come to Newark, Nancy, I hate to say. Two gut-punches in local staffing across two years, and we thought Gannett was done here — and then they slashed beyond bone last week, destaffing the one person in one of our two weeklies and bringing the mothership down to three (count ’em, it’s easy, three) reporters. For a county of 175,000 persons and county seat of 45,000. And all our copy editing, such as it is, being done 150 miles away. Meaning the occasional subhed that baffles and tragic errors in obituary layout . . . and a weekday print run that’s often four sheets, eight pages, rarely inserts. I figured they’d go to three-day print before they’d cut more staff here, and shows what I know.
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nancy said on September 28, 2017 at 9:06 am
The Free Press is outsourcing its copy desk at year’s end. To Louisville, I believe. So yeah, that’s some bullshit.
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Suzanne said on September 28, 2017 at 9:29 am
I am flummoxed at the corporate mindset that is so common now. I see what is happening in Washington with bureaucratic posts being left unfilled or filled with people who are clueless about the mission and work of the organization, but it’s not all that unusual. A woman who lives down the road from me told me how her company had let her go after 40 years and an impeccable work record. She also said that shortly after her layoff, she got a phone call from someone in one of the departments she’d worked with asking for help because nobody there had even remotely the knowledge she had and they were struggling. In other words, nobody had a clue what to do. So typical.
I attended a reunion this summer with some women from college, all in their late 50s/early 60s. I was surprised at how many had been “let go” from their jobs, several multiple times, and none because they failed to accomplish what they were asked to do. Understanding your job and growing your knowledge base of the company and your part of it seems to no longer be considered valuable. Fundamentals are unimportant. Chaos seems to be the goal.
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Deborah said on September 28, 2017 at 10:17 am
Boy, if I was let go and someone from work called and asked me a question I’d tell them to go fuck themselves, well maybe not those exact words but close. After I retired I was happy to answer questions but I was the one pulling the plug not them. And to be honest they didn’t call very often so it didn’t get annoying.
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