The Trailing Edge

Dateline: November 6, 2020. This blog post will deliberately ignore the top two headline-grabbers today, because news on those topics is as common as pinecones on the ground. You can fall over 'em anywhere, even if you aren't looking. So instead, I'll rant, rave and whine about job interviews.  A year or so ago, I was laid off from an office job I had held for 13 years. Fortunately, there was some severance pay, and when that ran out, a retirement account to roll over. Then came a couple of months' work for the Census, and early next year, I will become an official old person by collecting Social Security.  Social Security recipients can work to supplement the income. They just can't earn barrels upon barrels of money -- Social Security is designed as a "safety net." I think the annual max is something like $18K. I am quite sure that sooner than later, I will be out looking for a job. The Census made me happy. It got me out of the house; I met new people a...

It was the day before Valentine's Day and Harry was walking back to his desk at the end of his lunch hour. He chanced to look down the hallway and saw the curvy figure of Sally, a pretty administrative assistant chatting with Max, one of the production analysts. Harry had often seen Sally and Max enjoy lunch together. They seemed to be good friends. He wondered if they kept company after work too. Irritated by this tête-à-tête, Harry changed his direction and headed toward them. As he approached, he overheard Max, "...and I like the paddle shifter. It's cool." Harry interrupted, "What car is that?" Max answered, "BMW 650i." Harry said, "Man, that's an expensive car. Who would spend a year or so salary on a car? It's a foolish waste of money." Max shrugged and replied, "Some people like that sort of thing." Harry said, "Absurd. A car is a depreciating asset. In the end, you have nothing." Sally ...

                       For a thousand years, writers have been sitting in coffee shops (and bars) writing stories. I am sipping my coffee in Gregory’s Coffee near the World Trade Center surrounded by my fellow tourists to New York City. Down the street is the 9-11 Memorial. I offer prayers for our countrymen who went to work there and never returned home. I think of their families and hope that they are coping well with this hurt. I think of the images on TV of the Towers collapse. I think about the people I saw on TV coming over the Brooklyn Bridge covered in ash looking like ghosts and zombies. I think about lateness. Some people, good provider that they are, made the decision to get up early that morning so as not to be late for work at the World Trade Center and did not come home. Some people made the decision to get up late that morning, were late to work, missed everything, and went home. Something is off h...