by Oldragbaggers » Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:16 am
Beautifully and eloquently said, Steve.
My daughter is a single mother of 2 in California with a disability. She has no disability income at present because she is in a remission. You can't go on permanent disability if your disease is relapsing and remitting (not that she would want to, because she enjoys working and feels a strong sense of responsibility to do so whenever her health permits). She has no job right now because she hasn't been able to find one since going into remission. She gets a small child support check, does some babysitting for friends when she can and has help from us. Meanwhile there's hardly a day go by that she doesn't turn in resumes, fill out applications, follow up on potential jobs or have interviews. Up until 3 years ago when she became ill she had always worked, had a very promising career. Even as a kid she had a real entrepreneurial spirit. This girl is no slouch, does not want anyone to support her, does not want government assistance, does not want to sit home on her behind, and even hates taking assistance from us but does so because of her children.
But living in California where it is difficult for even couples with two incomes to make ends meet, to say she struggles is putting it mildly. Unfortunately, her court ordered custody arrangements with the children's father and the fact that her particular disease dictates she live in a warm climate. (Cold kicks off her symptoms. A good cold snap can end her remission in a flash) Leaving California to look for work elsewhere is not an option for her. Coming to live with us in the cold northeast is not an option for her.
So she struggles. When you don't know how you're going to feed two kids, paying over $4 a gallon for gas in a place where you can hardly do anything without getting on an expressway is a hell of a big deal. She's a college educated girl with a great work history and excellent references, and she is constantly looking, so the seriousness of the shortage of jobs in this country cannot be overstated. Once upon a time, because of her great work history and references, she would have had a good job in a matter of days. Now it's been months. And no gas, no job interviews. No phone, no job interviews. No money, none of either.
It's not easy for people who have a job or some other reliable source of income (and on this board I would say for most of us even expendable cash, or play money, to build teardrops and travel and camp and play and invest in vintage camping gear, and whatever other hobbies we have) to relate to the idea of not knowing literally where the grocery money is coming from this week. And not everyone has family to help, maybe don't particularly qualify for any government assistance program (or maybe don't want to use them even if they did) and have overwhelming responsibilities and obstacles to overcome. No money is no money. You can't get blood out of a turnip.
It's also easy, when you lack that basic life experience and point of reference, to be flip and make it sound so easy to deal with it. I sense and can understand Slow's pain and frustration. I see he is a man with a good heart, an amazing work ethic, a lot of drive and a refusal to give up. I don't think he needs to get off the ranch more. The ranch needs men like Slow. Even if he doesn't understand every nuance of the global economy, there's no denying that he's speaking from his own experience and that's to be respected.
I don't experience this struggle in my own life and I thank God every day that he has blessed us with the resources, not only for us, but that make us able to help our daughter and grandchildren through this difficult time. But I understand it on an intimate level, and my heart goes out to everyone who is struggling and with no idea how or when things might improve. My prayers are that change is coming and there is some end in sight for the difficulties being encountered every single day by so many.
