Recession Skills
Skills Worth Aquireing
Living in and through a resession takes a skill set. These skills are used by some all of the time, moreso of we grew up with parents who lived through the great deppression. I graduated hs. in 1970 and will explain to all who will listen; I have learned to stop short of stopping people on the street, about how different it was for those of us that had no job prospects in the great US economy. We had the gift of time. The war (in V) was winding down and most of the great battles -here and abroad- had been fought. By then the draft was a lottery, potential draftees difinitely went to college, or shot themselves in the foot.
All of the jobs in the Great Society had been gobbled up by older sibs, teaching jobs were backed up for years (I have a friend who, having gone to college, worked 11 years as a substitute before getting hired.) It was over time that the WW2 vets retired and Korean War vets found retirement communities in Fla. Those of us boomers who had been crowded out of positions found it was our time again, just before this latest ressession.
Some of us love irony and will find it wherever we can. Some are not interested. Living with irony I find wholesome and useful most of the time, but it is an essential skill during times of a contracting economy. I suspect the universe or God or what ever of plotting these mass economic contractions so that we will all become ironic. Otherwise we remain such dreadful bores.
Also, in a ressesion, household economic skills become must aquire. Articles on cooking and canning and using herbs will appear like magic in the paper. Okay, I date myself; newspapers are looking for readership these days. Try looking in the internet. Recipes will be essential, as many will be cooking for the first time, or the first time in a long time. Young folks will have skinned knucles from learning to repair autos that would have spent time in the shop in better times, or been dispatched to the junk yards. If anyone can find junk yards anymore; try center cities or extreme exurbia.
For those not working three jobs, entertainment can be found most everywhere, with young folks flocking to the center cities where they all have condos in refurbished factories.
Opportunity for making a living can be found in the most confounded places. our economy is maturing, finally growing up, I should say. Uneasiness and opportunity go together in retooling.
There is Only so Much Oil in the Earth by the Tower of Power, was a great hit in the 70’s (ToP had a wonderful horn section). I guess not everyone listened to FM radio back then, or didn’t care if they did, feeding your children does tend to take front and center. It was a great song, though.
Harwick Pines is a state park now, it is the only stand of old growth trees left in Michigan lower penninsula. Those trees, standing the lumber Barron’s Day, worth visiting now. Does the pattern have to go that we will mine shale oil (dirty) and the sea (off shore in the Gulf) and Alaska and Canada before it is all over. Like Michigan denuded- even of even fine shade trees on the village green; if there is money to be made, the writing on the wall is too hard to read.
Bank accounts speak loudly. They have a bottom line that cannot be disputed, or maybe it can (always hopeful, irony doesn’t have to go too deep). We have been here before. Biggest ressesion skill of them all; we must cultivate our sence of irony, we’re going to need it.
Living in and through a resession takes a skill set. These skills are used by some all of the time, moreso of we grew up with parents who lived through the great deppression. I graduated hs. in 1970 and will explain to all who will listen; I have learned to stop short of stopping people on the street, about how different it was for those of us that had no job prospects in the great US economy. We had the gift of time. The war (in V) was winding down and most of the great battles -here and abroad- had been fought. By then the draft was a lottery, potential draftees difinitely went to college, or shot themselves in the foot.
All of the jobs in the Great Society had been gobbled up by older sibs, teaching jobs were backed up for years (I have a friend who, having gone to college, worked 11 years as a substitute before getting hired.) It was over time that the WW2 vets retired and Korean War vets found retirement communities in Fla. Those of us boomers who had been crowded out of positions found it was our time again, just before this latest ressession.
Some of us love irony and will find it wherever we can. Some are not interested. Living with irony I find wholesome and useful most of the time, but it is an essential skill during times of a contracting economy. I suspect the universe or God or what ever of plotting these mass economic contractions so that we will all become ironic. Otherwise we remain such dreadful bores.
Also, in a ressesion, household economic skills become must aquire. Articles on cooking and canning and using herbs will appear like magic in the paper. Okay, I date myself; newspapers are looking for readership these days. Try looking in the internet. Recipes will be essential, as many will be cooking for the first time, or the first time in a long time. Young folks will have skinned knucles from learning to repair autos that would have spent time in the shop in better times, or been dispatched to the junk yards. If anyone can find junk yards anymore; try center cities or extreme exurbia.
For those not working three jobs, entertainment can be found most everywhere, with young folks flocking to the center cities where they all have condos in refurbished factories.
Opportunity for making a living can be found in the most confounded places. our economy is maturing, finally growing up, I should say. Uneasiness and opportunity go together in retooling.
There is Only so Much Oil in the Earth by the Tower of Power, was a great hit in the 70’s (ToP had a wonderful horn section). I guess not everyone listened to FM radio back then, or didn’t care if they did, feeding your children does tend to take front and center. It was a great song, though.
Harwick Pines is a state park now, it is the only stand of old growth trees left in Michigan lower penninsula. Those trees, standing the lumber Barron’s Day, worth visiting now. Does the pattern have to go that we will mine shale oil (dirty) and the sea (off shore in the Gulf) and Alaska and Canada before it is all over. Like Michigan denuded- even of even fine shade trees on the village green; if there is money to be made, the writing on the wall is too hard to read.
Bank accounts speak loudly. They have a bottom line that cannot be disputed, or maybe it can (always hopeful, irony doesn’t have to go too deep). We have been here before. Biggest ressesion skill of them all; we must cultivate our sence of irony, we’re going to need it.
posted by Ridgewriters at 8:10 AM
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