Posted by Mike (WA) on August 18, 2010 at 16:41:46 from (69.10.196.7):
Had to get a new cell phone today- I apparently left mine on the top of my car and forgot it, because I found it, in three pieces, in front of the mailbox where someone had run over it. My old National Guard buddy from 40 years ago is the local US Cellular purveyor, so went to him for a new phone. Lucky I went in now, because he's closing down the shop at the end of August. Quizzed him a bit, and he and wife are both going on unemployment, and should be able to ride it until they are 65 and can get full Social Security. Unemployment was at 99 weeks (up from 37, when I took it for the only time in 1995)- but apparently The Annointed One just extended it another year.
Called a local surveyor to set up an appointment to talk to him- he answered the phone, not a secretary. Found out why when I went to see him- he's the only one left. Has to pay his crew under the table when he gets the occasional surveying job, or they would lose their unemployment. During the heyday, he ran two survey crews.
Bought a couch from a friend who has a furniture store. Commented to him on how much I liked his sales person- delightful young woman, who knew just how much to "sell", and how much to get out of the way. He said "Yeah, she's a peach- I'm keeping her on full time, even though I really can't afford to, but I don't want to lose her. She's my only full time employee now- I have an old guy who comes in 2 days a week, and the only reason is because it takes two people to carry furniture when we deliver. My delivery crew is long since gone- its me and him, now. When we are going to be delivering, I have my wife come in, so the sales girl won't be by herself here- its not safe to leave her here alone, with her being such a looker, and all the crazies around. Wife is now doing all the bookkeeping, and mostly does it on delivery days when she comes in to cover."
Client of mine is a landscaper- had equipment, crews, etc. He's 65 years old, and I went by a commercial property down the street and he was mowing the lawn and doing all the landscaping himself. No employees anymore. He's barely scraping by- he may lose the expensive house he built when things were booming.
This is all very disturbing to me. We're not in an economic recovery, we're in a "hunkering down" where proprietors are now doing all the work, and the jobs they used to provide are gone. How is this all going to shake out?
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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