Boom, Boom & Out Go The Lights

downsizing. everybodys doing it. a transformer blew in my little community last week. fire trucks, ambulances & cops out the ying-yang showed up for this little drama. finally an electric truck. all to just stand around, talk about the problem & yell at the little kids to step away from the area. about 60 homes without electricity for the better part of the evening. when we heard the explosion (a loud crack then a big ole boom) we walked outside to see what the commotion was all about. my neighbor across the street was already out standing in the street. i walked across to talk to her. i've noticed her car home as i left for work for the last 2 weeks & in the same spot when i got home from work. very unusual for her. i figured she was on vacation. no, she informed me her position had been cut. she's about 58 years old & has arthritis in her hands pretty bad. she just had knee surgery last month. she's a sweet little old lady that i've known for about 25 years & we've seen alot together in this community. she's been at her job for that entire time. staples had bought out her company & didn't need her services anymore. its a scary thought. i'm almost 50 & it would be devastating to lose my job. i don't know where or how i'd start to look for another job. who wants someone in their 50's to start a new career? who wants someone in their 50's in their company as a new-hire? let alone someone almost 60. i was there for her when she came home from work about 10 years ago to find her mother sitting in her chair waiting for her to get home from work....dead. i heard the horrible loud moaning that turned into a scream & went out immediately to see what happened. 'oh no, lindy, she's not breathing' is what she said when i went up on her porch to knock. i called 911 for her & tried to comfort her. again, i find myself trying to comfort her & let her know i'm there for her. like me she owns her home & has a decent car but not alot more. she got a severance pay. not nearly what she's worth & certainly not enough to live on. we've always kinda kept an eye on her & hubby takes her garbage out to the curb for her. but when you're so self-reliant how do you turn to someone to really help you? what can i really do for her? i, at least, don't have arthritis & bad knees. but then again, i'm not almost 60 years old. who knows what can happen in 10 years? just plain scary.
with all those civil servers around, not really doing anything but still having a job i thought, maybe i should take up ems training or something to do with serving the public. they at least didn't seem to have to worry about doing a job but still have one.
times are changing. life is getting harder. i thought it was supposed to get better, easier, guess thats not for the little guy.
i'm just one of the little guys. scary. just plain scary!
later