Some highly personal thoughts from my Friday morning skim …
Aside from the disgusting GOP Congressional shitshow that is the voting for the Speaker of the House and the heartbreak of the Ukraine, these stories resonated. (Note that WP spellcheck is prompting me to make “shitshow” two words, but I’m going to stand my ground here).
First stop – the bookish: ghostwriting rumination …
That is, the article titled, “When the Writing Demands Talent and Discretion, Call the Ghostwriter”. For years I hung out on the periphery of a great group called Gotham Ghostwriters, meeting amazing writers and those who match them with folks who don’t have the time or inclination to “author” for themselves but do have pockets deep enough to outsource. For those who writers who can do it, ghostwriting for luminaries with a platform can mean big bucks and is certainly a way to make or augment a writerly living. And I love Jay Moehringer’s work. But as someone who still fights to be seen, who has struggled to have my own voice heard — bless you guys — it’s not for me.
Jobs and the U.S economy
Honestly, when I read anything about “U.S. Jobs Report” (in this case the headline read “… Expected to Show Only Slight Slowdown in Hiring”) my automatic thought is always “bullshit” — statistics don’t reflect the real, on-the-ground life. Maybe because in my storytelling I’m all about character, I’m suspicious of blanket claims of “job growth” when so many people I know are underemployed. In this New Year, there’s already an announcement of a massive layoff with cut in office space at Salesforce, and an accompanying article for the jobs report reinforces that, “Small businesses and lower income families could feel pinched in the months ahead.” Ya think?
Help for the mentally ill
I took the clickbait because for one glorious moment I thought “Donald Trump is going to get the treatment he so desperately needs.” And there is a lot going on in New York City regarding the mental health system and the mentally ill right now.
But what the skimming led me to was a more important, first-person essay about one woman’s incredible struggles with the system to help her mentally ill sister. It’s an issue that’s familiar to me — a (now-deceased) diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic uncle lived on and off with my grandmother in an apartment that my uncle owned. My dad helped care for him (think compelling him to shower before a family event and middle-of-the-night phone calls to pick him up somewhere) before he was committed to and passed away at the now defunct Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center aka Wingdale.
Everyone discusses the mental health crisis and good on the people who are trying to get folks more help. It’s not enough.
Don’t know what motivated these mini-screeds for me today. Onward!
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