Ran into an old friend yesterday who Id lost touch with. We went to Opening Day at the Cell about four years ago and he was out of work at the time...a white collar system analyst pro who had gotten screwed and left behind at the time when he was supposed to get a new job and a brand new start with a well known company out west. Instead, a family of four to support with a college age son and his life on hold til times got better. He ended up unloading trucks at Walmart overnight. His plight reminded me of my life near the end of 92 when I got screwed out of a full time gig at a Chicago radio station whose call letters you would recognize. The wasted time spent treading water professionally with your dreams deferred. Last week I mentioned Walmart and got some attitude here for patronizing them. EXCUSE ME, when you are down on your luck and just trying to hang on with a busted career, you will wear that vest, get all the hours you can rock and do the best you can. And if you still dont get that, just go ahead and unfriend yourself right now. Seriously. As I once mentioned here my equivalent of my friends Walmart phase was loading air freight containers for UPS out on South Cargo Road at OHare. Tough ass, sweaty work to bring something home for the family but not nearly enough and I honestly dont know many others who would have done that besides my friend, myself and my other buddy Rick who had his dashed dreams too. This kind of stuff tears relationships apart, forget the platitudes about pulling you closer together. Its the American Dream split in half and crumbling; it happens to regular, hard working types without substance issues or trust funds on which to rely. Yesterday my friend told me hes run through his retirement money and will have to work until he drops. Same here brother. I also discovered that my hard working friend got a job about two years ago on the assembly line at the Chrysler plant in Belvidere just off the interstate...an hour up there everyday and an hour back. He was toiling there overnight and used to listen to me here on the Overnight Drive. If I was at all inspirational to him doing what I do here almost every night, then its been worth the long sleepless nights and the sleepy drives home every morning. Rockin Chicago overnight from midnight to just before the dawn. He said he almost called any number of times and I wish he had. But I also understand...those years locked away from my rock radio dreams, I wasnt giving cellular shout outs to everybody in my phonebook. And especially many of my onetime radio friends, most of whom I never heard from anyway. In fact some of them still look at me like I died when I bump into them these days which is ok. I dont need those kind of shallow relationships anymore anyway and neither does anyone else. In closing though... some good news I heard from my friend yesterday, last June he got his computer career back...for less money of course, but back nonetheless. So thats something inspirational for us to meditate on this morning while we get ready for our late night vinyl. And never forget, even though our circle seems a bit smaller at times, you continue to inspire me with your comments, your spirit and dare I say it, your love. Cheers my friends.....
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 07:49:55 +0000
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