A human story of hard times
Dear John: I wrote to you when my husband was laid off and could not find a job. He was an executive who worked about 42 years of his 64 years of life.
He ended up taking a job with one-quarter of his pay, but he didn’t complain. He worked long and hard, was paid a small salary and commissions. He hustled so much that he made ends meet with those commissions.
Recently he was stricken with pancreatic/liver cancer. His life has been swept away from him in every sense of the word. My dear, wonderful husband is unable to work hard, do all the things he did so well around the house and all we have is hope.
He wants to return to work, and he’s fighting this disease to do so.
Where do we fit in this wonderful economy now? Nowhere.
I was going to send a very private letter to our local paper, but decided against it. Maybe you are the one person who will truly understand that there are people just like my husband and me who are suffering and don’t let anyone know about it. We are not in the statistics of the economy turning around.
No matter what, nothing will turn around or be the same for us. I didn’t send the letter to the editor of our local paper because their rules are 200 words or less. Who the heck can put what I have to say in 200? Besides, I truly believe that no one will care. And they will be cold enough to write back and say they will have to condense my letter.
But something today told me to send it to you — not to be printed, but to agree with you. For many people, this economy is lousy, and it’s even lousier for us.
It’s a long message. So I really don’t think you’ll want to read it. And that’s OK because the way we feel, not many people really give a damn about anything except themselves. I’ve always believed you’re different. Maybe that’s why I chose you to read this.
We have been good people, taking care of my now-deceased parents and working hard. But now we find ourselves just trying to get through one day at a time: paying our medical bills and wondering how this could have happened.
I cry a lot, and I wonder what will happen to my husband. Who else is going through this? Many other people. But we are the silent ones, suffering with grief, worry, pain and heartache. E.M.
Dear E.M. Thanks for sharing your feelings with me and my readers. And I’m very sorry for all that you and your husband have been through. I hope that even as this note appears in The Post, both of you are feeling some comfort.
I’ve gotten your permission to run this note, and I am doing so because people need to understand that the bad economy lingers — not only in the statistics but in people’s lives. A recession isn’t something that gets switched on and off.
Washington can contort economic statistics all it wants. But the fact is that the economy is creating far too few jobs — even if you believe the government’s numbers, which I obviously don’t. And millions of Americans are still underemployed or unemployed.
Another reader asked me recently when I was finally going to be optimistic about the economy. Well, if my being optimistic would make things improve, I would have switched tones already. But do you want truth or unrealistic optimism?
I figure it’s my job to err on the cynical side. And I think I’m doing it for people like you.
Stay well.
Send your questions to Dear John, The NY Post, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10036, or john.crudele@nypost.com.