I remember last November I was at the store and a lady walked up to me all dirty and homeless. She had cards in a bundle that she picked out of the dumpster, where the party store tossed them. She was going up to people looking for help. Most turned her away and kept walking. Before I got out of my car I sat and watched a bit, thinking back to some of my hard times during my life—and boy I had a few—but never at this poor lady’s level. I thought, heck we bring home $700 a week and we live from paycheck to paycheck, but we are lucky to have that check. I got out of my car and she came over to me. I gave her $100. She started to cry and she handed me the cards and said, “Please, I don’t like taking anything for nothing.” I often think of that lady and today I find myself about as close to how that lady lives then I have ever been in my life. I wish I could have done more for her, but rest assured, when I get back on my feet I will go back to that area and try to look her up and forward what was given to me.
I am Precinct Captain, sworn into office with the Democratic Party on behalf of Obama. Back in January, even after my husband first got laid off, it was horrible but not totally horrible because we had a little bit saved and I was lucky to have picked up a babysitting job for awhile until the mom lost her job. My husband put an ad on Craigslist to be a day laborer even though most of his life he worked in an office doing office work. Of course, just being an office tech, you don’t make a huge amount of money, but he made $18.50 per hour. Now people look at his resume (Note from author: I have it.) for his type of work and say he is over quantified. No one is willing to pay that per hour, but he is willing to work for $10 per hour and still no one will consider him. He tells me they want someone young, someone that looks good. That may be true, but what are people supposed to do?
