Tech & Biz

Out of Work in the U.S.A.

by Barbara Mathieson | July 4, 2009 at 05:08 am

223 views | 46 Recommendations | 6 comments

When I lost my job last November, I never dreamed that I would still be unemployed in July. I have a job generating small amounts of commission, but it is not enough to get off unemployment. My husband John who has been unemployed since last September has sunk into a funk about his status. He spends sleepless nights reading, surfing the net, weightlifting and walking.

Ten years short of retiring, I found myself in a dead industry, print production, after 35 years. I do not subscribe to newspapers and magazines any more. Print production directors are as marketable as American auto workers. I have not drive an American made car in years either.

During past years when Born in the U.S.A. was played during fireworks shows, John and I were often puzzled why this song was being played to celebrate our country. It is a song about despair, not celebrating the Red, White and Blue. This year, we are living the song.

Born down in a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me"
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said "Son, don't you understand"

I had a brother at Khe Sahn fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, he's all gone

He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.

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Amy Judd

at 07:05 on July 4th, 2009

A sad and touching piece, thank you for sharing it with us. I hope things change for the unemployment rate in the U.S soon.

Carrell

at 07:48 on July 4th, 2009

I have often wondered why this song was so representative of the U.S.A. as well. Thank you for this touching reminder this Fourth of July.

I love the United States, with all our problems and joys. I prefer to let this song into my mind today:

"My country,' tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
land of the noble free, thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
thy woods and templed hills;
my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song;
let mortal tongues awake;
let all that breathe partake;
let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

Our fathers' God, to thee,
author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright
with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might, great God, our King."

Happy Birthday USA

hidflect

at 08:28 on July 4th, 2009

When unemployed for some reason there's often a tendency for days and nights to switch, turning people nocturnal. So that's unwanted but normal. And rejoice print media is dead. With the internet you can now cull 100+ job search/recruiter sites, auto-searching for anything relevant and getting auto-notifications if anything relevant comes up. Then just copy/paste your resume in. The cover letter only needs writing once and is tweaked for every application so paperwork is low.

Realistically, one can get off 4 applications a day and it's a great tonic for the "blues" just to have that email activity going out and coming in. Looking for a job is the worst job in the world. The pay is lousy. It's a direct sales job. And the product everyone's shaking their heads at is YOU. So do what those "Boiler Room" salesmen do. Turn into a machine and make it a numbers game. If a new plant opens up, mail the news to the nearest recruiting agency and ask if they've heard about it and would you be suitable? That impresses them coz your helping them and being "pro-active" which we all are anyway but no-one believes it till they see it. Establishing a relationship with agents, however discreet and minor, is life and death.

Unfortunately there's some gamesmanship in the process. Never let them hear your true feelings. Always be "upbeat" but not talkative, etc, etc. All necessary evils. I wish I could just tell potential employers and recruiters straight but the odour of despair is deadly. Circle a date 60 days from now on the calender as your target and meet it. That simple physical act and the resulting black circle staring at you from the wall calender locks you in. Eat frugal and make it your business to close the deal. You have a job to do, so Good Luck!

Barbara Mathieson

at 10:20 on July 4th, 2009

Thanks. I am not mourning the death of print media. And I like looking for work in the social media age. It is easier to get in touch with potential employers. The downside is that unemployment is so widespread in the US right now. There are thousands competing for jobs.

Rory Cripps

at 14:30 on July 5th, 2009

BARBARA: I know quite a few down here in Sunny Florida that are in your boat. I also know people in New York City that are in the same boat. All of them are in their fifties and they never expected that which came down the pike. No one seems to be able to offer reassurances anymore and no one seems to know what to make of it or what to say about it. However I think that the average American can take comfort in knowing that he or she is not alone and if we stick together, as Americans, we'll come out of it stronger and better than ever. The worst thing that anyone can do is to give up hope.