All alone at the bar of life. Let's drop in and see how he's fairing.
"Hey there, Joe. Havin' a cold one, are ya?"
"Yeah"
"Howzit?"
"Not so good. Lots of politicians talk about me, but none of 'em help me. Ain't no good jobs around here like there used to be"
"Ya gotta do now what ya gotta do"
"What, move to China? There and Mexico is where all the jobs went. Lookit- the factry towns what used to be here is now over there"
"Go to school why don'tcha?"
"Don't want to go to no damn school. Just give me a job to go to and a six pack at the end of the day. I ain't going anywhere. I like it here. Here's where I grew up"
Liz Weddon- Unsplash.com
"'Fraid that's not possible anymore. You have to make your way in the new economy. Find your niche, make it happen, start a business, maybe even hire people. Job hop, seize opportunities, work a couple of part time jobs, educate yourself in some skill-set, use the power of intention, whatever it takes. That's how it's done. Don't you listen to podcasts or read any, uh, current books, magazines? You know what is available on the internet? Lots!"
"What the hell I want to do any of that for? Makes my head hurt, thinkin' 'bout all that."
"You got to get up to speed, Joe"
"Why for? My daddy didn't have to"
"Ain't like that anymore, I keep tellin' you".
"That's fer damn sure!"
"Say Joe, I gotta run. Gotta meet with my team. We're going to launch a new product and I want to make sure everybody's on board with our marketing strategy."
"Got time fer just one round? It'll be like old times""
Matteo Bernardis- Unsplash.com
"Nah Joe, can't. But I will stay and tell ya this. You know, Joe, those jobs they've been promisin' ya ain't coming back. Ain't gonna be like it was. Cheap labor, large profit margins, and shoddy ethics drives business today. Most of 'em got no problem in takin' as much as they can get away with. They say they 'have to do it to survive in the global economy'. While some of that may be true, interpret that to also mean that they don't care about guys like you. They claim to care, but that's just to get you to vote for 'em. Don't wait on their empty promises. Yer better off reinventin' yourself".
"Kinda figured. This bar used to be full of regulars like me...."
"Guess I'll be goin' then"
"See ya". (Joe raises his glass, looks down the bar) "Barkeep!"
"Yeah, Joe. What do you want?"
"Pour me one for the road"
"You ain't gonna drive, Joe! Those days are over too!"
"Yeh, I know. Wife's gonna pick me up".