Where are the real jobs?

In my Org Comm II class (Comm 482) we've been discussing "real jobs" and what we consider a "real job." Within the last year many people have lost their "real jobs" due to the recession, two of those being my sisters. Both women have university degrees and had been at their respective jobs for 9 and 15 years. Reason for their termination basically was they were making too much money and could be replaced by someone who would work for less. This afternoon, my neighbor stopped over and told me she recently lost her job of 24 years and from which she planned to retire in the future. She is dealing with this blow graciously and rationally; however, she explained that she also was let go because she was making too much money. These are tough economic times for everyone; the recession has hit us in F-M too. Sad.

Tonight at 8, President Obama is scheduled to present his State of the Union address. How does his first 12 months in office measure up? What topics will he address: unemployment? the economy? the national debt? the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? his prized health care reform? the exorbitant budget deficit? What happened to Obama's promised fiscal responsibility and "Change"? I am so disappointed.

Living on MN's Iron Range

I was born and raised in Minnesota and enjoyed my elementary years living on the Iron Range in the village of Babbitt. Most summer afternoons we hopped aboard a school bus and went to nearby Birch Lake, where we swam in root beer-colored water for hours. Most of our dads worked for Reserve Mining Company mining iron ore, which the ground was full of and also contributed to the brown lake water.

Every Wednesday (mid-day) they blasted rock at the mine and it shook all the houses in town. The mine bought and built the clinic, our two schools and all our homes, which featured steel interior doors and windows! Our high school, John F. Kennedy, was fabulous: tennis courts, indoor swimming pool, auditorium, cafeteria, great classrooms, lots of space and features for the 1960s.

During the summer we rode our bikes all over town, including to the school playground and the shopping center, which housed the Post Office, 1st State Bank of Babbitt, Slade's Grocery, a laundromat, Babbitt Drug, and the hardware store.

In the winter we went ice skating after school and on weekends at the rinks behind the elementary school near our house. Our dad, Rodney, learned to skate as a kid growing up in Fergus Falls, and it was amazing to watch him glide across the ice.

Our mom, Gert, took us on many blueberry picking trips. I also remember that we never saw bears in the woods looking for blueberries, but bears frequented the city dump just west of town, scavenging for food.

I often organized parades on our street, Fir Circle. My brother, sister, our friends, and I marched and displayed our talents, which featured mostly baton-twirlers. My brother, Breck, had a large Yogi Bear mask, so that was his costume. We had a nice swing set in our back yard, so the parades concluded at our house with a circus and "feats of daring" on our swings, slide, trapeze rings, and teeter-totter. Our mom served us Kool-Aid and treats after expending all that energy, as we were all so thirsty and hungry.

One summer our mom decided she would show us how to make homemade ice cream like they made when she was a girl growing up in western North Dakota's Badlands. She made the recipe, using cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, and when we needed more ice, she sent us three kids around the neighborhood to beg for ice cubes. That ice cream was the best I ever tasted in my life!

We had a speed boat and often went out on the lake for rides and sightseeing. One time when we went to an island for a picnic, my little sister, Wendy, slipped on the rocky edge and fell into the water... but that's another story.