Today I had one of the worst days of my professional career. I had to tell a colleague and friend that the company he had worked for over ten years had downsized his job and he was no longer employed.
How do you tell a man that is too young to retire and too old to start anew that the job he thought would carry him to retirement is no longer there?
How do you tell a man with pre-existing medical conditions that after six months his health coverage will end? When he realizes that in today’s health care crisis environment, he has virtually zero chance to latch on to any health care policy because no insurance company will touch him with a 10-foot pole.
It is a national shame that this great country of ours has no national health insurance for its citizens. When a person is dealing with the loss of his livelihood, the last thing he or she should have to worry about is health insurance. Those of you living in countries with national health programs are so lucky. No program is perfect but that is one less distressful thing in your life, one less worry.
Tonight I came home and headed straight for the garden. The mosquitoes were out in force, the rain was coming down, and the heat was stifling but I didn’t care. The weeds needed to be pulled and I needed to pull them. Thanks, DragonFly--I needed that.
I spruced up my herb corner; the plaster stand with the aloe plant on top was salvaged from a neighbor’s garbage pile. The tomato plant in the picture is my last one for this season.
I cleaned and pulled out all the weeds from my vegetable patch and left the marigold volunteers for some color in the summer. I plan to double the size of the vegetable garden next fall. (Remember, that is one of my big projects for the year).
How do you tell a man that is too young to retire and too old to start anew that the job he thought would carry him to retirement is no longer there?
How do you tell a man with pre-existing medical conditions that after six months his health coverage will end? When he realizes that in today’s health care crisis environment, he has virtually zero chance to latch on to any health care policy because no insurance company will touch him with a 10-foot pole.
It is a national shame that this great country of ours has no national health insurance for its citizens. When a person is dealing with the loss of his livelihood, the last thing he or she should have to worry about is health insurance. Those of you living in countries with national health programs are so lucky. No program is perfect but that is one less distressful thing in your life, one less worry.
Tonight I came home and headed straight for the garden. The mosquitoes were out in force, the rain was coming down, and the heat was stifling but I didn’t care. The weeds needed to be pulled and I needed to pull them. Thanks, DragonFly--I needed that.
I spruced up my herb corner; the plaster stand with the aloe plant on top was salvaged from a neighbor’s garbage pile. The tomato plant in the picture is my last one for this season.
I cleaned and pulled out all the weeds from my vegetable patch and left the marigold volunteers for some color in the summer. I plan to double the size of the vegetable garden next fall. (Remember, that is one of my big projects for the year).
8 comments:
That must have been so hard for you to do. I come from a country with National Health Care, and yes our taxes are higher, but no one ever files for bankruptcy because of medical bills. I am enjoying your beautiful photos very much. I have had to learn a whole new way of gardening here in Central Florida and it is a complete pleasure.
Cheers
Sue.
Hi Rusty.....such a hard thing to do.....my heart goes out to you and especially the man that had to leave. We are fortunate here, we have National Health Care....I don't know what we would do without it. I do hope the man concerned has a bit of luck and that something just comes right for him.....
The garden is a wonderful place to calm....vent out anger....our sadness.....
I look forward to seeing your vegetable plot expand.....
Do hope you have a better day tomorrow......
That was very hard to do, no doubt about that. Fortunately I live in a country where people when they lose their job are still insured for health care. Also they get money to live on so they have a roof over their heads, food on the table and the children can still attend school. Yup, we pay taxes, a lot of them, but people are able to lead a normal kind of life even when they have no work.
That must have been such a hard thing to do.I don't envy you.Yes,I wonder where this country is heading.
And I agree the garden is wonderful place to calm,and work things out in your head.
Hang in there.
Rusty .. This is a heart wrenching story and I feel awful for you both. You are a kind hearted person that takes this impact deeply . I'm Canadian and even with all of our grumbling about our health care , we DO KNOW we are so lucky with that and our social services .. I am still mystified why the United States does not have some kind of program in place, especially for people who have worked so hard and long and would be still be working,if not for the "down sizing" and out right corruption of some of these big bad boy companies.
You have illustrated wonderfully that you have such sympathy and empathy for this situation and that your garden can fold you in her arms and give you some momentary relief from the world .. bless your heart : )
So sorry that you had to give new like that...We are seeing a lot of people loose their jobs around here too. Looks like you put your heartfelt concerns to good use when you got home....gardening therapy, just can't beat it!
Rusty, that's a real heartbreaking story. I'm afraid that it's becoming all too familiar, though. The consequences of certain actions and policies will cast a long pain ridden shadow.
What a tragedy for this man, and all others who share his fate. It must have been all you could do to not break down and cry. It is a sad situation. I do hope something will be done about the health care system in the US, and soon. Thank goodness for the relief from your garden. I wouldn't want to be in those weeds' shoes, if they had shoes.
Frances
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