At one point a clearly frustrated Evangelist said that God sent Hurricane Katrina as a punishment for New Orleans’ sins. It is with similar frustration (and perhaps similar error) that I am inclined to call this God’s retribution on GM for the Hummer. In any case, a lot of innocent people are going to be hurt by this as well.
I got shaved by GM all the way back in 2003. Granted, I was a contract employee, but I had spent a total of 7-1/2 years there, the last five toiling in a body shop. There’s life after General Motors.
From ’95-’97, I was laid off 3 times, as changes in my profession forced changes. Today, I make less money, am more productive, and am far happier than I ever was in my former career. In fact, I recently attended a social affair with folks I worked with 10-15 years ago and left truly glad for the changes of the 90s.
I am certainly not minimizing the pain and difficulties of job loss. But it’s truly not the end of the world.
This is the type of situation where a parish and parishioners can be of help by just being there. There was a time when I was out of work for a period and I was lucky to have 2 friends who kept an eye on me and were supportive. A lot of fellow professionals acted after awhile like it was contagious. Besides the obvious problems ones unemployed have, there is the very real, but less obvious, trap of becoming isolated.
At one point a clearly frustrated Evangelist said that God sent Hurricane Katrina as a punishment for New Orleans’ sins. It is with similar frustration (and perhaps similar error) that I am inclined to call this God’s retribution on GM for the Hummer. In any case, a lot of innocent people are going to be hurt by this as well.
I got shaved by GM all the way back in 2003. Granted, I was a contract employee, but I had spent a total of 7-1/2 years there, the last five toiling in a body shop. There’s life after General Motors.
From ’95-’97, I was laid off 3 times, as changes in my profession forced changes. Today, I make less money, am more productive, and am far happier than I ever was in my former career. In fact, I recently attended a social affair with folks I worked with 10-15 years ago and left truly glad for the changes of the 90s.
I am certainly not minimizing the pain and difficulties of job loss. But it’s truly not the end of the world.
This is the type of situation where a parish and parishioners can be of help by just being there. There was a time when I was out of work for a period and I was lucky to have 2 friends who kept an eye on me and were supportive. A lot of fellow professionals acted after awhile like it was contagious. Besides the obvious problems ones unemployed have, there is the very real, but less obvious, trap of becoming isolated.