When It Rains It Pours

My husband has had only 2 jobs since 1972 when after he decided farming for himself wasn't going to feed us, he went to work as a tractor driver. He worked himself up into a farm management position there and changed jobs after 22 years. For the last 15 years he's been working for a farming corporation as one of their farm managers, doing the same work.

That's all he knows. He knows how to make a cotton crop, or a soybean crop, or a rice, corn, or milo crop. He can keep the equipment running; keep the farm hands busy doing their jobs; keep the day to day operations of a farm going. He's never been late, never missed a day of working from "can to can't" that he was supposed to work unless he was too ill or too injured to walk. And he's never asked a man working under him to do a job that he wasn't right there doing it with him.

Today the farm owner decided he is done. He's shutting down the numerous farms and selling everything. He's selling most of his other businesses too. This decision is putting a big hunk of the work force population of this county out of work and it's really, really bad news because the economy was crappy in this county even before it was crappy everywhere else in America. This man probably paid the only fair wages to be found around here.

My husband is almost 57 and he's now trying to figure out where he's going to find a job come January or February that will pay him enough to pay our bills.

My health problems are such that I'm doubting my ability to pass a physical, but I've printed out my resume so I can go tomorrow to begin a job search.

We've been down before but not with the debt that we have now from the loss of our home to a fire 6 years ago. We're going to make it, but I sure am feeling sick to my stomach right now.

Hell, I just thought last week was bad.