Over-50

Ok, Boomer - It's Come to This in Year of COVID-19

It's come to this: rationing of emergency medical care. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that at NYU Langone Health, Robert Femea gave ER front lines "sole discretion" for who is put on a ventilator. They also have permission to withhold futile incubation. In that decision-making loop the Ok, Boomer could be assessed as, crudely put, not a good bet for treating.

So goes another day in the coronavirus pandemic.

Andrew Cuomo becomes increasingly attractive as a presidential candidate.

His approval rating, depending on the latest presser, is around 90%. On CNN, his news-anchor brother Chris Cuomo brought up the possibility of Andrew as next U.S. president.

Among the many edges Cuomo has is that the public trusts him. That is so much so that he can make errors of judgment and is quickly forgiven.

Celebrity culture might be ending.

Folks are too scared about dying from the virus to give a damn what Ellen DeGeneres throws out there as guidance or supposed inspiration. 

It's posited that celebrity culture began with Teddy Roosevelt's flamboyant daughter Alice. The Ok, Boomer might remember the catchy song associated with her "Alice Blue Gown.'

Instead of celebrities America is embracing those ordinary people who serve in necessary functions.

On social networks, there are lots of likes for and comments about the workers at Aldi. We cheer that they are receiving "hazard" pay for manning the grocery lines. 

Tomorrow, April 1st, is THE DAY.

That's when many bills, including rent, are due.

As a public service, some corporations are letting it be known that they are open to negotiation. For example, when I called into my Bank of America Visa card about rewards (you bet, those can help out plenty with balances), the automated messaging was front loaded with this: The powers that be invite discussions about alternate ways to approach payment.  

But there are businesses which might not be concerned about the branding implication of taking swift action against those not paying their bills on time. After GM shuttered the Lordstown, Ohio plant, evictions from apartments were routine. And the sheriff doesn't ring twice.

Not everyone is in a financial pickle - lessons learned. 

There were individual catastrophes before The Time of Coronavirus. In 2003, I had lost my nest egg, business, and mind. Here is my book on that, including lessons learned, which can be downloaded free. 

Not only did I resolve never again to live above my means. I embraced what's now called "radical frugality" or "minimalism." Then I referred to it as a "vow of poverty." In the front lines of that psychic (and behavioral) shift had been cognitive therapist, based in West Hartford, Connecticut, Amy Karnilowicz. 

The results included going from six-figure debt to having a surplus of income at the end of most months and maintaining an investment portfolio.

Takeaway: Research how to live cheaply. It can be done, even in America. My most recent initiative has been to donate my automobile to Kars4Kids. That, according to Nerd Wallet, can save someone an average of $8,469 a year. I had been at that fork in the road: Buy a new car or figure out how to get from Points A to Points B, C, and D without a car.

Some can enjoy the pause and some bump up against the tipping point of despair.  

On social networks, brandname lawyer Norm Pattis (he had defended Connecticut's Fotis Dulos) reflects that slowing down is not a bad thing. The courthouses are closed so he and other lawyers are not cranking out the usual lawyerly things like briefs and aren't appearing before a jury.

However, Pattis is self-employed. He is positioned to manage his financial everything. The self-employed have more wiggle room in hard times. 

Lawyers employed by law firms aren't so fortunate. Recently Womble Bond Dickinson laid off junior lawyers. Reed Smith is slowing down cash distributions to partners. 

Ironically, those lawyers losing jobs might find themselves scrambling for help, just like the former servers in restaurants and the clerks in department stores.

They should click into the Paul Weiss Coronavirus Relief Center, created by lawyers working pro bono. It simplifies the mazes for help.

Red tape can be daunting. It could also be the tipping point into despair.

On an individual basis, pitch in with helping those allergic to red tape to get the information and aid they need. Recently, readers who are gig workers have been asking me how to apply for unemployment. That's permitted by the CARES Act. Here is my public service post on that development for contract workers and the self-employed. 

Allow ourselves to change. 

The New York liberal in me is being forced to re-think values. Where I am living now (very affordably) is not a coronavirus hotspot. But an hour away is one. Governors, mayors, health officials, and medical personnel are deciding whether the hospitals here will be open for those from the hotspot. 

This time my mindset is the conservative NIMYB. That is, not in my background. So far the cases of the virus and the deaths are low in this county. Allowing those from a hotspot to be treated here could be the game-changer.

"At my age," as the saying goes, I never expected to have to be "tested" so severely. After I bounced back in 2004 from my individual year in hell I assumed I was entitled to a smooth ride. HaHa. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

OK, Boomer - Now This

The routine for many adults in America is this: the weekend, then work on Monday.

Monday then becomes the cruelest day of all when there is no work - or there is fear that employees are reporting for duty (including remotely) and will be told they are being laid off.

A pall has descended over America. We wonder if we will be able to shake the current dread of what shoe will be the next to fall. 

Let the experts argue about how to classify this economic catastrophe. 

We experience it as the worst of times. Everyone knows someone who is waiting for the $1,200 to pay the rent. But first they have to negotiate with the landlord to also wait. There is talk of lobbying for some temporary time-out on rent payments. But, come on, property owners have a lot of bills of their own to pay.

Professional services players, ranging from law to public relations, are spooked. 

Major law firm Womble Bond Dickinson just laid off junior lawyers. The worldwide PRovoke/ICCO survey found that almost 77% of PR firms expect a loss of earnings and almost 27% anticipate layoffs.

Yes, governors such as Andrew Cuomo and Michael DeWine are doing great jobs. 

But, how we still suffer. There is no way of predicting if we or our loved ones will die. 

Meanwhile staying at home is an ordeal. A necessary one. But so difficult.

Impossible to envision a life after COVID-19.

Can there be joy again? Happy events to celebrate with a lot of people in the same room, standing close together? 

My grandparents never recovered emotionally from The Great Depression. And my grandmother did survive the Spanish Flu but her health remained precarious. 

No, most will not simply walk into the future without tremendous sadness.

Share on social networks your longing to return to addiction.

People are out there to remind you how bad it had been and how sobriety is so much better. Among those cheering on recovery is journalist Ana Marie Cox. 

A drink for those who can't drink won't make it better. There are also meetings online and on-the-phone. Check the internet for the links to their schedules. 

Sure, fall apart today.

I couldn't rouse my Inner Resilient Self. After walking the dog I went back to bed. When I got out of bed I only took the dog for a short walk versus the long one he loves. I didn't take my new motorcycle to the empty lot to practice. I finished off a large bag of trail mix (high in fat, carbs). 

For the rest of the day I will watch on ION reruns of "Criminal Law."

Now and then the tears come. No one can reassure me that things are going to be okay. At least today.

Tomorrow? That could be better.

It seems like a gigantic conspiracy that the Eisenhower Administration, the guidance counselors at school, the priest for our confirmation, or our parents didn't tell us the Ok, Boomer that life is difficult. The only message we received was a rigid formula for success. Do well in school. Go to college. Dress nicely.

Then the Recession of the early 1970s came. Life wasn't what we had anticipated. But we absorbed that reality and went on to enjoy a sustained boom.

Now, this.  Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports the Class of 2020 assumed they were entering a hot job market. Then there has been the COVID-19 reversal of fortune. They, like Ok, Boomer, could have also been sold an inaccurate take on reality: the school message. Meanwhile, the Millennial six doors down is happily employed in the service department at Ford. He fixes cars. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Lookism, Ageism - Help-Wanted Seeks Good-Looking Women in Their 20s and 30s

Question: How did Craigslist allow this help-wanted in its Phoenix, Arizona section? The discrimination involves appearance, age, and gender.

The person who placed the ad is recruiting "good-looking" females in their "20s and 30s" to pass out flyers. That will be done around Arizona State University or any high-traffic area. The compensation is $150 for about six hours work.

Smart global ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Not Knowing - We Should Have Gotten That in the Early 1970s

Coronavirus

The stock market

Can the house sell for price needed

Of course, age puts a target on your back at work

Will the landlords up the lease at renewal time, despite what's going on.

It's impossible to have the answers to these.

We got that now, with all the moving parts colliding in crazy ways.

But we never really knew what was going to happen, did we.

Maybe the first real reversal of fortune was the brutal recession of the early 1970s. Before that there had been the predictable path of going to college, not getting into serious trouble with the law, and, for women, doing what was necessary to prevent becoming pregnant before marriage. Life was good. We deserved to be smug. 

Then, we lost jobs. Or couldn't get them when we received our degree. 

With that jolt, relationships, especially from school, often unraveled. 

Next was becoming ultra serious about a career. That likely peaked sooner than we ever imagined.

Parents died or became dependent.

Yet, the funny thing was that we still assumed we were in the driver's seat, doing the planning. 

I had a dry run on the current uncertainty when I put together my big plan to shake off the East Coast and relocate in Tucson, Arizona. That lasted 27 months. I headed back east in August 2016.

Plans blown up since COVID-19 have included scaling my communications boutique. That's not going to happen. And not only for me. So many of my colleagues, spanning all generations, are in the same pickle of reduced demand. 

Reflections: Can we ever surrender to the reality that life can't be planned out? Control is a dangerous illusion. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Overwhelmed Ok, Boomers - Live Now (and free) For Us Is Unique Coronavirus Relief Center, Put Together by Paul Weiss Chairman Brad Karp

The Chairman of law firm Paul Weiss - Brad Karp - has been an early adopter in rallying lawyers, as well as businesses not in the law loop, to help Everyman/Everywoman during COVID-19. His very visible presence established a kind of template for why to help - and how. 

Following is Karp's more recent statement about the need to pitch in:

As the leader of a law firm employing more than 1,000 attorneys, and as someone who has helped lead national pro bono initiatives to reunite separated immigrant families, promote gun control, safeguard LGBTQ rights, protect reproductive freedom and secure voter enfranchisement, I am daunted by the carnage our nation is about to confront involving the tens of millions of American workers devastated medically, emotionally and economically by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. While we fear that the loss of life resulting from this pandemic may be catastrophic, we know for certain that our most vulnerable citizens will be ravaged economically as a result. 

In this time of fear and isolation, it is imperative that we in the legal profession not lose sight of our professional obligation to help others in need.  While this pandemic will continue to impact all Americans, its devastating economic consequences will not be equally shared. The impacts will be felt most acutely by those in our society who are least able to endure loss.  To slow the spread of the virus, states and localities across the country are closing schools, restaurants, bars, retail shops, museums, theaters, libraries, parks, stadiums and other public venues and directing people to stay home—actions that will be catastrophic both to the tens of millions of hourly workers in our country who live paycheck to paycheck, and to small business owners dealing with lost revenue and mounting costs.

The need for help is staggering. The numbers here speak for themselves.  More than 50 million Americans earn “low wages,” defined as median hourly earnings of $10.22 or less.  More than half of all U.S. adults live paycheck to paycheck and do not have an emergency fund covering three months of expenses.  And most American businesses do not extend severance pay to employees. Add to these sobering realities the fact that these low-wage employees work predominantly in industries that are among the most catastrophically hurt by the pandemic, including 16 million Americans in the leisure and hospitality industries, 5 million food service workers, and 4.5 million retail clerks.  The American Hotel & Lodging Association estimates that, nationally, 1 million hotel jobs, or nearly one half of the total jobs in the industry, have already been or will be eliminated in the next few weeks. Every day, the headlines become increasingly dire. 

In recent days, our federal, state and local governments, along with the nonprofit sector, have responded to this crisis by making emergency resources available to those in need of assistance. In reality, however, significant barriers prevent those most desperately in need from accessing these critical resources.  Even in ordinary times, most of the affected individuals would find it daunting to identify the programs for which they are eligible, let alone understand the intricacies and sort out the complex claims and application processes.  Many programs have overlapping subject matter and confusing eligibility requirements. Many programs are funded at one level and administered at another, adding further complexity. Agency phone lines and websites are overwhelmed and crashing under the avalanche of inquiries. Community services organizations, already underfunded and stretched thin in helping the most vulnerable, are under tremendous strain to keep up with the daily rollout of new relief programs.

Lawyers can play a vital role in breaking down these barriers. As the crisis deepened, I asked my colleagues at Paul, Weiss for volunteers willing to collect, digest, organize and synthesize the flood of information about emergency relief available to the tens of millions of Americans most impacted by the pandemic and to build an infrastructure to make this information accessible to and actionable by the most vulnerable. My colleagues answered the call in unprecedented numbers.  More than 400 attorneys volunteered in the first two hours; since then, many have been working around the clock, pro bono, to identify and analyze the hundreds of potentially applicable federal, state, local and nonprofit relief programs. They have prepared indices of available relief, summarized the key programs and eligibility requirements, and provided a roadmap for how to apply for and secure relief.

Today, [Tuesday, March 24] our firm’s online Coronavirus Relief Center has gone “live.”  The Relief Center is an easily navigable repository of the most up-to-date information on hundreds of local, state, federal and non-profit relief programs available to the millions of Americans economically impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.  The programs provide a broad range of emergency relief: opportunities for out-of-work employees to receive enhanced unemployment benefits; provisions enabling certain employees to take sick leave, family leave and avail themselves of other forms of relief for missing work; opportunities for qualifying families to receive emergency cash assistance; opportunities for small businesses to secure grants to cover payroll costs; opportunities for small businesses to apply for zero-interest loans to mitigate lost profits; loan programs available to qualifying small businesses to fund working capital costs; plus many additional forms of relief. 

The website demystifies what otherwise would be a daunting process. It offers a menu of jurisdictions to choose from. After selecting a jurisdiction, their state of residence, for example, users are offered a menu of available programs for individuals and small businesses in that jurisdiction. They can click on any relief program to view a short summary of the program, in simple terms, including eligibility requirements and the types of relief available, in a format that is easily understood by non-lawyers.  They may also view contact information for those responsible for administering the program’s relief and links to additional information about the program and application forms, if available. 

Of course, my law firm is not alone in caring for those whose lives have been hardest hit by the pandemic.  Bar associations, public interest lawyers, legal aid organizations, private practitioners and corporate law departments are mobilizing resources to bring relief to the vulnerable and powerless.  As news of our project has become known in the legal community, we have been contacted by dozens of law firms and in-house legal departments eager to make a difference. I have been deeply moved by this outpouring of unity and this commitment to the public good. Our firm is committed to contributing whatever institutional and human resources we have at our disposal to help those in need.

But the crisis we are now confronting is too daunting, too sprawling, and too complex to be addressed by a single law firm or even a group of law firms—no matter how well-intentioned and no matter how well-resourced. We intend to form partnerships across the bar, our clients and the public interest community to support these efforts to help those desperately in need. And while our online Coronavirus Resource Center is focused on the needs of Americans, we will be working internationally with organizations like The Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice (www.vancecenter.org) to enable law firms outside of the United States to provide pro bono legal support for those affected in their countries.

To deal with the economic dislocation of tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of individuals around the globe, the private bar, writ large and in historic numbers, will need to join forces with leading public interest organizations to confront the challenges we now face as a society.  This is a call to action across our legal community.  Our work is only beginning. 

As many of us spend our days shuttered at home, our routines, our work, and our lives interrupted by this invisible virus, it is critical that those of us with the resources and skills to help not lose sight of those among us who are most vulnerable, and who will not have jobs to return to after this pandemic eventually subsides.  What all of us do right now will make all the difference to these individuals—and will ensure that we, as lawyers, are part of the solution.

Brad S. Karp has been the Chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison since 2008. Here is his backgrounder on LinkedIn. 

Smart ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how, for professional services and trade associations. Complimentary consultation, please contact Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

Gig Workers w/o Work - Financial Help May Be on the Way

The Coronavirus Stimulus Bill which passed the Senate last night has the section "Pandemic Unemployment Assistance."

That provides unemployment assistance for gig workers.

It still has to pass the House and be signed by President Donald Trump. If the Stimulus Bill becomes law this temporary provision for contract workers could accelerate the process of reclassifying them on the federal level more as traditional employees.

In Vermont, Bernie Sanders had introduced such a bill. California, with some exceptions, implemented that change on the state level.  

BusinessInsider reports gig workers who are without assignments would receive a weekly payment from their states just as they would have had they been classified as full-time employees. The amount of the check would vary from state to state. Each state has a different cap on the amount of the weekly payment. In addition, the length of time for that payout would be extended for four months beyond what's standard.

High profile has been the plight of the Uber drivers. Because of stay-at-home mandates and the falloff in airplane travel many have had a major reduction in revenues. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

TARGETED!

Today is a time of mixed moods. 

On the one hand, there are exhales about the $1.2K per person that will help pay for necessities.

On the other hand, the prediction is out that, soon enough, the United States will be the Next Italy in terms of the number of cases and deaths. And, supposed safe havens such as Ohio will be the Next New York. There has been a second death in Lucas County, which includes Toledo, OH. 

So, overall, it's another typically crazy day in The Time of COVID-19.

Some are tired of being scared and some are just getting scared.

But, in general, those on Main Street don't want to talk about it. That's like having a conversation about the possibility of dying in 10 days.

Instead of talk there is compulsive consumption of digital and broadcast news. 

Puzzling why media outlets are still covering who has been infected. 

The first couple of cases, both among celebrities like Tom Hanks and the guy next door (more males land the disease than females), were newsworthy. Now they seem media clutter. 

Prince Charles has COVID-19. So? Story is only interesting if the angle is if Prince William will become king. And, will Prince Harry feel ambivalence about leaving dear old dad?

Obviously, there will be surge in retirements from career paths.

Many of those losing their jobs who were interviewed on television were over-50.

Research predicted the aging have targets on their backs. Researchers also passed along the grim news that if the displaced aging employee is blessed and is hired for another job only one in 10 will earn comparable compensation. 

Most likely professionals knocked out of their career box will have to throw in the towels on all that. If they can't afford to retire the traditional way, that is, not work at all, they will have to change their mindsets about how to earn income. Here, free to click open, is my guide on that Download Outwitting ageism.

Class of 2020 is the Unhinged Gen. 

That applies to bachelor, graduate, and professional degrees.

Most graduates will not have the customary ritual of the commencement ceremony as the bridge to The Next, that is uncertainty. It might surprise some but even law students lament no graduation rite of passage.

There may be few jobs requiring college degrees and beyond those. 

Promised jobs may no longer exist. The place could be shuttered.

The jobs which do exist might not last long. 

And, who doesn't face 20 years of paying off student loans?

The takeaway may well be: Reimagine a way to make a good living without higher education. 

Kroger is our friend. 

There is a posse to disinfect shopping carts before and after use.

Fresh produce is fully stocked. 

Self-check-out kiosks reduce human interaction. 

On the W. Alexis store in Toledo, I dropped beverage bottles outside and they burst open. Talk about unraveling.

Unasked, a clerk observing this escorted me back in to replace them free. The security guard oversaw the process. 

In his novels about the Industrial Age, Charles Dickens hammered this meme: The only way to get through economic despair is with the milk of human kindness. Both dispensing it and consuming it. Kroger dispenses it. 

Salvation rides in on two wheels - or re-learning how to do that. 

A Millennial neighbor in my residential complex is learning how to ride a powerhouse of a motorcycle.

For me, the Ok, boomer, it's getting back the skills and confidence I had in doctoral studies (that bit of higher education also had a lousy ROI and that had been years ago) tooling around Ann Arbor, Michigan on a Honda 90. 

Both of us felt euphoria about being able to get across a big street to the gas station to fill up.

The tough nut to crack remains turning on a dime. 

This formidable challenge distracts from preoccupations such as the future of our investment portfolios and if we will be among the dead.

It's an eye-roller for the thought leaders to pontificate the great good which could come from this global crisis. As Madonna had put it, "Papa Don't Preach." 

Smart global ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

FIRE: Has That Gone Way of Low-IQ Phone?

"We're not even officially in recession yet, and already the prognosticators have begun that we're shortly going to see the end of the Fire movement." - Tanja Hester, MarketWatch, March 25, 2020.

During the bull market, the Fire (financial independence, retire early) dream became popular. Yes, it was possible to bulk up an investment portfolio to the point that you never had to work again for income. In addition, those good with money or simply lucky could acquire other assets ranging from real estate to art. If they embraced frugality, they certainly had a shot at exiting what is called "the rat race."

That was then.

It will take years for the wealth lost in the stock market correction (or crash, depending on your point of view) to come back. Those wonderful jobs in which you can work X number of years and then retire early will be fewer, at least for a number of years. 

But, as the MarketWatch article points out, it's still possible to liberate yourself from doing work you don't want to do. Fire doesn't necessarily mean not working any more. Instead the dream is not to have to do the kind of work, when, where, and how that you don't want to do. That could become the new understanding of Fire.

What it requires is establishing a stream of income which you can live on. No, it doesn't have to be large. It just has to be enough. Call that a form of minimalism. 

Think: enough.

For example, a former real estate lawyer had had it. During the real estate crash earlier in the 21st century he had lost mostly everything. But along the way, because of his gross earnings, the amount of what would be his Social Security payment grew.

At age 62, he opted to do a Fire by applying for Social Security early. He hunkered down in a part of the midwest where his rent, including utilities, would be less than $600. He developed low-cost sources of pleasure such as attending no-fee lectures and tech workshops. And he has never looked back. 

Before the Fire concept caught fire (pun intended), in pockets throughout the United States such as Tucson, Arizona, ordinary people were already able to shake off the need to work at what they didn't want to do. They did this by relocating from pricey coastal metro areas and doing radical frugality. Some were even able to ditch the expense of a car by choosing a city with good public transit. According to Nerd Wallet, the monthly nut for car ownership is $702.

Yes, there are those who embrace Fire who are working part-time or even full-time. But it's what they had dreamed about doing. For instance, the job could be receptionist at an animal shelter or designing crafts to sell online. They don't "need" the paycheck. That's what makes Fire Fire. The word "retirement" should be deleted from Fire.

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Ok, Boomer May Never Be Whole, Again: So, Stop Telling Us About How Much Others Have Lost in Stock Market

It's the financial-planners' platitude: How much more their other clients lost, compared to what the Dow Jones crash snatched from our own (illusion of) financial security. 

Well, if among their clients has been Warren Buffett, they have lots of details to pile on about financial catastrophe.

BusinessInsider reports that in 2020, Warren Buffett has already lost $21 billion or 24.1% of his fortune. And there are nine more months still to go in 2020. Since COVID-19 hasn't peaked in the U.S., no one has to be a Wall Street expert to anticipate more major hits to investment portfolios, including Buffett's. 

The odd thing is that most financial planners still don't get it that financial pain isn't relative. Each individual is his or her investment portfolio. The Ok, boomer might not live long enough to have the former full value bounce back.

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Get It Why Grandparents, Parents Were So Weird - Ellis Island, Spanish Flu, Then The Great Depression

My grandmother would down straight those tumblers of cream they used to serve with cups of coffee. I would look away, cringing inside from embarrassment.

My mother evolved into a hoarder who resorted to lies (fraud, I guess it would have to be called) to get businesses to give her more stuff. 

After he retired from the railroad, my father grabbed a job mixing lead paint in an unventilated room. No, he didn't need the money. What he needed was to continue to feel like he was worth something. Several years later, he developed and died from Multiple Myeloma. When I was blogging the four-month Rhode Island lead paint trial, beginning in 2005, I had a hunch there might have been a correlation between the lead paint and the cancer. 

As a family, generations of members had endured being brutally screened at Ellis Island, the Spanish Flu, and The Great Depression. 

Only now, as a result of the cumulative impact of my own encounters with extreme tests of strength, do I get it that they were programmed by life into weird. 

The latest ordeals, of course, have been the interrelated Coronavirus and stock market meltdown (which some contend hasn't hit bottom).

My physical health, so far in Ohio which isn't an epicenter, is holding up.

However, my mind flickers on and off. Like many, I have been able to not cave to despair because we got wise: We no long check the numbers in our portfolio. 

Before that, it had been The Great Recession. There were stretches of it in which I had enough work to sock away funds for relocating out of New York Metro Pricey Everything to where the cost of living was lower. The downside of that April 2014 move was that I haven't been able to make the kind of close friendships I had nurtured back east. 

Earlier was 9/11. The kinds of professionals who had been my clients died. I still sit on the couch catatonic, wondering how that happened. 

I won't circle back any further.

Adversity, goes the meme, is the platform for great growth. 

Really?

My family shrunk into frightened human beings.

Continually, they waited for the next shoe to drop.

Some died young from heart attacks. Others committed suicide.

Most of the members of the family from my own generation just kept running from the horror. There are myriad ways to run. 

There's no telling what kind of human beings we will be as we emerge from this most recent ordeal.

We could become totally liberated since we, as the song goes, have nothing left to lose. Or we could anticipate more shoes to drop, incapable of joy.

Smart global ghostwriting, with SEO and social networking know-how. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.