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Sept. 23, 2004 I've recently been contacted by some kook who implied I'm lazy just because I receive some assistance from public aid. I'd like to address this since at one time I also was as ignorant. I now have my eyes opened the hard way. I've worked the better part of my life. I don't want pity. I will work hard again and hope soon to be off the dole. I think a little further backround might help some people understand where I'm coming from. When I was growing up mom and dad had huge gardens in the summers. I'm talking several acres. Not these little garden plots people have in their back yards. A lot got wasted because of the size and there were only five of us. Weeds, as hard as we tried got away from us. I often had blisters on my hands from weeding and hoeing. I also mowed the yard and helped mom with the housework. If I had spare time I also helped my grandfather with his yard and since he owned the ground our town's post office was on, as well as the building, I would help take care of that property, too. When I went off to college, I worked myself through. I carried mail around to the teachers and administrative offices, worked in the media center, and the last two years worked in the cafeteria washing dishes. I helped also with other thing involved in taking care of business around the cafeteria. Besides keeping good grades. I graduated on the honor roll and with an Honors in Course. I worked as a management trainee for Burger Chef before they sold out to Hardees, I flipped burgers for McDonalds (also opening and doing things for them like mopping floors and cleaning toilets). I worked on a survey crew lugging equipement, and doing graphics design for a T- shirt shop and screen printer. I worked 22 years in a magazine bindery which employed about a thousand people. While working at this bindery I would often work 12 hours a day. Sometimes this was 6-7 days a week. I would straighten and repair paper stock (magazine sections), feed sections into a binder running millions of books a night, I worked as a counter stacking bundles of finished mags on pallets for shipment, cleaning the binders when they were down and inspecting samples. I had other things I did, but it was part of the job. The company sold out to some company out of Canada and they closed the plant. Now, while I worked those long days my wife was going through cancer treatment. I wound up working and raising two kids on my own. Afterward I went back and took drafting and art design. I drove a cab for awhile (15 months) where I was up for a 4 a.m. pick up evey day and on call mostly till 11, or 11:30 pm. After 15 months of that I had to quit from exhaustion. I've spent some time substituting in various schools and helping with the scouts, both as a trained leader and unit commissioner. Now, I spend my days filling out applications and sending out resumes' and writing. I'm often up early in the mornings and through out the day. I also aspire to do housework, but with a teenage son well...Sorry, I had to pull myself together. I cry a lot now. Those of you with teens will understand. Anyway, now you know what it's been like with me. I'm not asking for pity. I don't have time. For those who think they can fill my shoes, much less walk a mile in them good luck. I wear size 14 E's. I live in a small rural town and so beside fast food most of what we have is Wal-Mart. If I get any help from the dole I'm not proud of it, but I don't get that much help there either. I'd rather not be. It's degrading. I've b*tched enough. Nuff said. Semper Fi! ------------ About the author: Lee Zelhart is a proud graduate of McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois. He is the widowed father of two teens and the prospective author of a soon to be published book called: The Ghost of the Cavalier. Sometime in summer 2005, or before. Email: graphicsdoctor1@sbcglobal.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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