This economy has forced me to do a heap of reflection. A "new norm" work culture of meritless job reviews is here to stay. It is a new world of part-time, minimum wage, 1900 Upton Sinclair-esque jobs. Trying to better yourself is of no consequese the the "new norm" employer. It will probably even be held agaist you. In a no merit work world, why do you need a trouble making over-achieving, consciencious worker around. If places haven't closed completely, they are probably on their third round of 10-day unpaid furloghs. What's the point?
And too, there wafts over us a not-so-new culture of de-constructing the American male. Throw him out with the empty beer bottles, he is the root of most evils anyway.
A day 30 years ago flutters through my mind now and then these days. Boy, I felt old then, having worked already for 15 years and only being 24 years old. Three of those years had been in the military during a war. I'd like that Bob back now though. Non-the-less, I just can't get a job out of my head from that shitty economy. Women and children first - that old saying seems permently attached to the experience. Single men with no childeren go down with the ship. Or, they need to rearange the deck furnature to look busy before they drown.
So taken with the experiene, I wrote about it on September 13, 2007 " Eleventh Job of Bob - Feed mill ."
{When spring turned to summer and the planting season turned to the green fields of July, I finally met the assistant manager again. He headed me off one afternoon in the parking lot. "We got to let you seasonal help guys go," he said. "You will be first to go see'ns you ain't got no wife or children. I 'spect a guy like you don't need the money no how." He turned and walked off. In retrospect, I maybe should have told him where to jump off. But I was so stunned by his ignorance I could only just stand in disbelief. Not that I would be laid off; I knew that going into the job. I was overwhelmed by his ineptitude. Sure, I thought, I will just pull money from that money tree I park my junk pickup truck under. I would buy a better vehicle if assholes like you actually paid me a decent wage. By the time I collected my thoughts, he had vanished. I would never see him again. The place is still there all these decades later, utilitarian as ever. I never set foot in the place again; nor, have I ever spoken kindly of the experience.}
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
This week's Wisconsin military service person to remember is Army Staff Sergeant Todd Cornell, age 38, who died Tuesday, November 9, 2004. CNN.com lists Cornell was assigned to Detachment 9, 1st Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, Army Reserve, based in Fraser, Michigan. Cornell died while he was serving in an advisory role with an Iraqi unit which came under attack in Fallujah, Iraq. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted that at the time of his death, Todd was survived by his mom and dad Renee and Robert Cornell, a daughter, Catlin, 10, and a son, Jake, 8, and a brother and a sister. Staff Sergeant Cornell had been in the military 16 years. He arrived in Iraq in February of 2004. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Todd Cornell joined the military after graduating from high school in Menomonee Falls. He lived in West Bend when home from duty. Sergeant Cornell was the 26th military service person from Wisconsin killed in Iraq.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
94,008 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,308 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,365 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
911 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
317 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
594 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,557 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,434 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
101 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
16 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
139 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
17 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
