Corporate America

My brother-in-law lost his job last Friday.  A big company bought out the Iowa small town farm implement repair.  They assured the employees that nothing would change.  The day after they made the transition they let the employees go.  One asks oneself how this will go over with the farmers who bring their tractors in for repair--to have their long time buddies fired.

Paul, I'm sure you will find another job--and I pray that it is close by and soon and everything you need!

Bill and I have seen both sides of corporate america ourselves.  It would have thrown us around like a dog with a toy if we had let it.  Families we know sold their house and took their children from their schools, left churches and friends and moved down south to keep their jobs with that not-so-local airline.  Shortly after arrival and the purchase of an inflated dollar house they were let go.  Is there a fair severance for that?   I'm not sure I would've survived that very well, but that's just me.  I'm kind of a nester.

In Iowa when you drive by a hog farm and it stinks--the farmer says, "smells like money to me."  Likewise, when I heard jets over our house on a foggy day--I always said to myself--those jets are helping to pay our mortgage.  Now they are just noisy.

On the bright side--in March we are flying to Hawaii on the last of many free airline tickets Bill secured when he and the not-so-local airline parted ways. Eight of us are going--the Stephens side--for the second year in a row. Hawaii is pretty nice. I'm gonna miss those tickets.

Another bright side--Deerwood Elementary--of Eagan, Minnesota--school of Calvin and Mary--was the recipient of a grant from Target for $100,000 last week.  That's a lot of zeros. Can you believe that?  My understanding is that Target gave out fifty grants to schools.  Last year I was in charge of the plant sale and with all of us working together, and even with corporate america style spreadsheets, we only made around $3000.  So this grant is equal to about thirty-three years of me helping with the plant sale.  It is a heck of a lot of money.  Generous money.

When a Suzuki student can't read music, folks blame the method.  When a traditional student can't read music we say the student just had a bad teacher.  Labels are easy, the bigger the label the more people fit under the umbrella.  But they are still just people.  Individuals.  Good teachers.  Poor teachers.

Really there is no "corporate america." There is only people. There are good people and bad people, greedy people and generous people.  People who care about people and people who only care about the bottom line.

Here's to the good and generous!

Have to go now--need to make my Target shopping list for tomorrow. . .