desperate times

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This morning I had a note from a friend with whom I used to work at the newspaper. He had been a photographer at the time, with a wife and two children. Recently, after a long hiatus, I wrote to him asking if he would/could help me with a project I was planning. His return note said he was not the man to lend a hand ... I wanted help with the audio portion of a video; he had always hated the technical side of videos and was more into the creative end of things.

And he added ....

We've completely slipped out of the middle class and are on various types of welfare.  I'm delivering pizzas/washing dishes/mopping 3 evenings a week at a local restaurant, gigging most weekends, hosting an open mic, occasionally teaching guitar and occasionally doing freelance photography.  Kath got laid off a few weeks ago.  Desperate times.  

The kids are doing great in spite of our financial stresses.  We're certainly blessed in that regard. 

I felt helpless in a time when I would like to help. Bob acknowledged that he was not alone in his particular boat, but still ....

How infuriating I find the presidential candidates with their oleaginous claims of caring and their focus on tax returns and birth certificates!
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