Oh my God, I’m a demographic!
I signed up for the New York Times online that delivers carefully selected articles in areas of personal interest directly to your computer. I don’t buy the paper anymore (one of our many cutbacks) and this seemed like a good way to keep in touch with the newspaper and the City I loved so much. I was understandably intrigued when the email arrived with the following banner: “Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs” by Peter S. Goodman. (Not plagiarizing!) So I clicked on the link and was greeted by the subtitle, “The New Poor”. The lump in my throat threatened to cut off my air supply.
I read that “roughly 2.7 million people will lose their unemployment check before the end of April” unless Congress approves President Obama’s plan to extend benefits one more time. That’s me! I read that 6.3 million Americans have been unemployed for six months or more. That’s me!! I read that the percentage of women from 45-64 years of age who have been unemployed for six months or more has doubled compared to the “deep recession” of 1983, when it was 7%, to 14%. THAT’S ME! I read, “Every downturn pushes some people out of the middle class before the economy resumes expanding. Most recover. Many prosper. But some economists worry that this time could be different”. I fought the temptation to head for the liquor cabinet. It was, after all, 10 a.m.
I brushed my teeth, threw on my gym clothes and prepared to greet the acting student who has been a lifeline during these difficult times. It was a private today; part acting class, part therapy session…for both of us. All I can do is keep putting myself out there and doing what I love. Perhaps I will be one of those who recovers. Perhaps the loss of a steady paycheck has forced me to become more self-motivated. Perhaps everyone else will get jobs and they will once again donate money to theatres and I will get jobs, and the parents of my students will once again be able to afford classes and camps, and I will not just be one of those who recovers. Perhaps I will be one of those who prosper.
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The other day you wrote about the milkman and the metal container outside of your door. so explain this! I left Brooklyn in 1968....My daughter went on a nostalgic trip back and there was the container sitting outside, in the same place for 42 years.......Don't worry about becoming a statistic. We need to worry about this kind of behavior. Why would they want the container outside of the door? What possible use is the container? For snow shoes? Or is it a sign of the times, total disinterest or laziness? 42 years, give me a break! Ellie
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's fashionable. Reminds me of the story of the woman who used to cuts her roasts in half before putting them in the oven. When a friend asked her about it she turned to her mother, for that is who taught her to cook. Her mother turned to her own mother, for she also had no idea why she always cut her roasts in half. Her mother, the first woman's grandmother, now in her 90s, looked at her daughter and grandaughter as if they were crazy. "I don't know why you cut your roasts in half! I used to do it because I had a very small oven!"
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