¹The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.
5 There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
6 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
My wife Cheryl fell and injured herself on the way into work this morning. The squad is taking her to the hospital. I don’t know much else at this point but will update when I know more.
Oh no, that sounds painful and like it could be a long recovery. Praying!
Prayers for my work situation — nothing specific, but this has been a dismal summer amid a shrinking staff and an unusually silent newsroom. Our sister papers are going through something similar, I think. It feels like the life is just being sucked out of us. As someone said, the empire is crumbling … I need to work (mentally, spiritually and financially), so I’m praying personally for a new burst of energy, to find some good stories …
Guess who, I went to the optometrist this morning and (yay) my first prescription for bi-focals. The woman who did the first couple of tests on me was about 25. She told me her degree is in journalism, but all she has done with it so far is write a monthly blog. I told her journalism is an incredibly hard field right now, that I have a friend who is a journalist. But inwardly I was thinking, “Who let this girl graduate with a degree like that this decade?!” It’s one thing to be in the field already . . . but to try to enter it?
We have 2 college interns with us this summer and the one who is in a very select j program at Georgetown told me they don’t tell them what’s going on in the ‘real’ world of journalism. She’s learning this summer. 🙂
The skill will always be needed. How to develop stable business models with reliable revenue streams to actually pay people to do it (as the traditional outlets have done for so many years) is the big unknown.
I think it’ll sort itself out someday, but not real soon.
Yep, I assume the skill will find a place to be used . . . I just wouldn’t want to be graduating with such a degree in a financial climate that isn’t conducive to easily finding a first job in any field.
My older daughter was a writing major (I won’t get more specific than that since her program was kind of unique to her school), and she’s finding some various ways to use it, writing blogs and newspaper articles, but nothing (so far) that is a full-time job. (She does have a mostly full-time job, but not in that field.) Writing is like that, though. I went straight into editing, not writing, but it’s hard to make a living just by writing, no matter the specific field. Many Americans think it’s as simple as finishing the book you’re writing, and then it will get published and you get rich, but that’s an extremely rare way to earn more than a few thousand, if you can even do that!
My niece graduated from Auburn in December with a degree in audiology. THEN finds out in order to get a job in that field she needs a Master’s Degree.
She lucked into a fantastic job as an orthopedic appliance rep. Salary plus commission. She goes into surgery and tells the surgeon how the appliance is to be installed and how it works.
Sometimes the news we get is rather shocking like what has happened to Cheryl’s leg. We never truly know what the next moment will bring…but You always know. I trust You have provided comfort and good care for Cheryl throughout this day’s ordeal. Please let her surgery repair work heal up nicely and in proper working order. May there not be residual pain. Please, help A.J. and their daughter cope with being her support as she heals. I pray that her cast will not be too cumbersome and crutches will be well tolerated. Lord, we know how A.J. suffers and that hurts our feelings since we care so much for him. Now with his wife, Cheryl, hurting, we hurt doubly for them. May our taking on their hurts through our prayers lift some of their pains so they can be feeling better. May this experience be a growing time for Liz as she learns how to be more responsible and compassionate. May the kitties be super sweet to Cheryl when she returns home, because our pets often recognize when we are hurt. This has been a tough year for A.J.’s family. Please make for brighter and more fun times soon. In Jesus’ name, Amen
When I think back on my college years, the skills I use more than any are not those I learned in the English Literature classroom or even in the band, but in the newsroom. That’s where I learned how to research, ask questions, not be afraid to ask questions, meet a deadline and to ask myself, “what really is happening here?” for clarity.
While the publishing world is not a particularly good place if you want to make a living (unless, like me, you have a personal patron of the arts), the tools and things you learn can make you a very effective communicator and business person.
The trick is to find people willing to tell you stories all day . . . that’s what all I really do. 🙂
And no, I wouldn’t suggest anyone needing to earn money to actually live on go into writing–in probably any format–some do hit it big, but most do not.
It’s a soul-searching point for me. What would I do if I ran into a kid in the poor section of our town who was an exceptional writer?
I couldn’t in good conscience suggesting publishing. 😦
Note, however, the nasty internship requirements in our country/society today are stacked against kids. We’ve done an enormous disservice to the next generation and, for one, am ashamed of what my generation–who were given so much by their parents–have done to their children. 😦
Michelle, I’m curious what you mean by this: “Note, however, the nasty internship requirements in our country/society today are stacked against kids.” Do you mean that they tend to have to do lots of unpaid internships before they can get paying work? (I’ve only known one young person who had that situation, and she chose film, which is a ridiculously hard place to break in. Others that I have personally known have had at most one unpaid internship, and then maybe some paid ones.)
I think the real “disservice” we have done to kids is suggest that college is essential and then, after college, offer them minimum-wage jobs (what they could have earned without college). My kid with a college degree is currently earning less than her younger sister, without (though the younger sister plans on more college, and their long-term situations are anyone’s guess). If internships could be done instead of college (for some kids) more like apprenticeships, I think they could be of great value.
I think of my younger brother, for example, who chose to learn how to build houses by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity for a few years while he worked full-time. It was unpaid work, but it was cheaper than going to school to learn a trade, it was mutually beneficial (he helped others while he learned), he did it at his own pace, and so forth. That model of learning can work a whole lot better for some kids, and pushing college on those kids isn’t helping anyone.
But I’m not arguing with you, just seeking to understand, since my experience with kids and internships is limited to mostly good experiences.
Our interns get paid, including for partial sick time. And one of them is interviewing with our sister paper in the inland area so may get a regular job out of her summer spent here.
Cheryl is out of recovery and back in her room. I talked to the surgeon and he said things went well. They put in some plates and screws, took 2-3 hours. 😦 They gave her an epidural? in the leg to numb it. They brought her some food and water for the first time in 27 hours/food and 14 hours/water. Hopefully she can get some rest now. Poor thing. 😦
She’ll be on crutches for at least 6 weeks and out of work for who knows how long. She can’t drive herself there, it’s a hundred miles round trip.
Praying, AJ. 😦 What a seemingly crummy thing to happen out of the blue like that. This stuff just flips everything upside down for a while. Prayers for her comfort and recovery — prayers also for you as you take on more. And prayers for all of you as you grow through it, leaning even more on God’s strength and grace.
Out here, we only know one person who was paid for his internship. Everyone else is unpaid. That includes all those kids who want to go to medical school and need 1000 hours of either paid or volunteer work to apply. My daughter has maybe one friend who actually had a job in the medical field toward that 1000 hours? She herself sought work for 11 months, volunteering as she went–she got nearly all her hours as an unpaid intern, working 50 miles one way from her college. We had to buy her a car so she could get to her unpaid internship.
I don’t know how people do this, much less kids from impoverished homes.
We also know few kids who got jobs in their fields out of college, including the engineers.
Even Berkeley engineering graduates were having trouble landing jobs the last couple years. Hopefully things have improved lately, but judging by the number of applicants for the most recent internship at my husband’s company, not likely. 😦
One of the reasons so many companies ask for a college degree for even a basic entrance job is because the laws have changed about what can be asked in the application process, according to a friend of mine. Since companies are banned by law from giving entrance tests to determine what applicants know, companies just opt to require a degree.
That should imply basic literacy, right?
The other problem we’re seeing is kids don’t get a foot in the door to start until they’re much older. In CA you have to be 18 to work at McDonald’s; that lessens the availability for kids to get work experience.
So many keep going to school and taking classes, hoping one more degree or certification will make a difference in their ability to get hired. For most, they just need experience, not a job.
Many companies take advantage of that need by offering internships, but don’t pay a thing.
When they leave in a couple weeks — along with one of our reporters whose last day is this Friday as she prepares to take another job outside of the industry — the newsroom will have a scary absence of breathing people.
Wandering Views 
AJ here,
My wife Cheryl fell and injured herself on the way into work this morning. The squad is taking her to the hospital. I don’t know much else at this point but will update when I know more.
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Oh AJ, I am so sorry! I hope everything is all right and she is just bruised or something else minor.
BG is having oral surgery this morning at 10 Central
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At 10:26 EDST, I membered BG and Aj’s wife. Keep us posted.
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AJ, yikes — let us know.
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praying
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We are home. All is well.
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Glad to hear it, Kim. Still waiting for an update from AJ.
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OK, here’s the update.
3 fractures in right leg/ankle. As you can imagine, she’s in a lot of pain even with the painkillers they gave her. She’s in surgery now. More later….
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Oh no, that sounds painful and like it could be a long recovery. Praying!
Prayers for my work situation — nothing specific, but this has been a dismal summer amid a shrinking staff and an unusually silent newsroom. Our sister papers are going through something similar, I think. It feels like the life is just being sucked out of us. As someone said, the empire is crumbling … I need to work (mentally, spiritually and financially), so I’m praying personally for a new burst of energy, to find some good stories …
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😦 Mrs. Aj Praying.
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Guess who, I went to the optometrist this morning and (yay) my first prescription for bi-focals. The woman who did the first couple of tests on me was about 25. She told me her degree is in journalism, but all she has done with it so far is write a monthly blog. I told her journalism is an incredibly hard field right now, that I have a friend who is a journalist. But inwardly I was thinking, “Who let this girl graduate with a degree like that this decade?!” It’s one thing to be in the field already . . . but to try to enter it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
We have 2 college interns with us this summer and the one who is in a very select j program at Georgetown told me they don’t tell them what’s going on in the ‘real’ world of journalism. She’s learning this summer. 🙂
The skill will always be needed. How to develop stable business models with reliable revenue streams to actually pay people to do it (as the traditional outlets have done for so many years) is the big unknown.
I think it’ll sort itself out someday, but not real soon.
LikeLike
Yep, I assume the skill will find a place to be used . . . I just wouldn’t want to be graduating with such a degree in a financial climate that isn’t conducive to easily finding a first job in any field.
My older daughter was a writing major (I won’t get more specific than that since her program was kind of unique to her school), and she’s finding some various ways to use it, writing blogs and newspaper articles, but nothing (so far) that is a full-time job. (She does have a mostly full-time job, but not in that field.) Writing is like that, though. I went straight into editing, not writing, but it’s hard to make a living just by writing, no matter the specific field. Many Americans think it’s as simple as finishing the book you’re writing, and then it will get published and you get rich, but that’s an extremely rare way to earn more than a few thousand, if you can even do that!
LikeLike
My niece graduated from Auburn in December with a degree in audiology. THEN finds out in order to get a job in that field she needs a Master’s Degree.
She lucked into a fantastic job as an orthopedic appliance rep. Salary plus commission. She goes into surgery and tells the surgeon how the appliance is to be installed and how it works.
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cheryl: “Many Americans think it’s as simple as finishing the book you’re writing, and then it will get published and you get rich”
Yep. My cousin keeps asking me when I’m going to write “my book” so I can quit working.
hahahahahahahahaha
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It works for Nora Roberts. I don’t think anyone is editing her books anymore. I have stopped reading them.
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Heavenly Father,
Sometimes the news we get is rather shocking like what has happened to Cheryl’s leg. We never truly know what the next moment will bring…but You always know. I trust You have provided comfort and good care for Cheryl throughout this day’s ordeal. Please let her surgery repair work heal up nicely and in proper working order. May there not be residual pain. Please, help A.J. and their daughter cope with being her support as she heals. I pray that her cast will not be too cumbersome and crutches will be well tolerated. Lord, we know how A.J. suffers and that hurts our feelings since we care so much for him. Now with his wife, Cheryl, hurting, we hurt doubly for them. May our taking on their hurts through our prayers lift some of their pains so they can be feeling better. May this experience be a growing time for Liz as she learns how to be more responsible and compassionate. May the kitties be super sweet to Cheryl when she returns home, because our pets often recognize when we are hurt. This has been a tough year for A.J.’s family. Please make for brighter and more fun times soon. In Jesus’ name, Amen
LikeLiked by 3 people
When I think back on my college years, the skills I use more than any are not those I learned in the English Literature classroom or even in the band, but in the newsroom. That’s where I learned how to research, ask questions, not be afraid to ask questions, meet a deadline and to ask myself, “what really is happening here?” for clarity.
While the publishing world is not a particularly good place if you want to make a living (unless, like me, you have a personal patron of the arts), the tools and things you learn can make you a very effective communicator and business person.
The trick is to find people willing to tell you stories all day . . . that’s what all I really do. 🙂
And no, I wouldn’t suggest anyone needing to earn money to actually live on go into writing–in probably any format–some do hit it big, but most do not.
It’s a soul-searching point for me. What would I do if I ran into a kid in the poor section of our town who was an exceptional writer?
I couldn’t in good conscience suggesting publishing. 😦
Note, however, the nasty internship requirements in our country/society today are stacked against kids. We’ve done an enormous disservice to the next generation and, for one, am ashamed of what my generation–who were given so much by their parents–have done to their children. 😦
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Michelle, I’m curious what you mean by this: “Note, however, the nasty internship requirements in our country/society today are stacked against kids.” Do you mean that they tend to have to do lots of unpaid internships before they can get paying work? (I’ve only known one young person who had that situation, and she chose film, which is a ridiculously hard place to break in. Others that I have personally known have had at most one unpaid internship, and then maybe some paid ones.)
I think the real “disservice” we have done to kids is suggest that college is essential and then, after college, offer them minimum-wage jobs (what they could have earned without college). My kid with a college degree is currently earning less than her younger sister, without (though the younger sister plans on more college, and their long-term situations are anyone’s guess). If internships could be done instead of college (for some kids) more like apprenticeships, I think they could be of great value.
I think of my younger brother, for example, who chose to learn how to build houses by volunteering for Habitat for Humanity for a few years while he worked full-time. It was unpaid work, but it was cheaper than going to school to learn a trade, it was mutually beneficial (he helped others while he learned), he did it at his own pace, and so forth. That model of learning can work a whole lot better for some kids, and pushing college on those kids isn’t helping anyone.
But I’m not arguing with you, just seeking to understand, since my experience with kids and internships is limited to mostly good experiences.
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Our interns get paid, including for partial sick time. And one of them is interviewing with our sister paper in the inland area so may get a regular job out of her summer spent here.
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Updates from A.J?
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Cheryl is out of recovery and back in her room. I talked to the surgeon and he said things went well. They put in some plates and screws, took 2-3 hours. 😦 They gave her an epidural? in the leg to numb it. They brought her some food and water for the first time in 27 hours/food and 14 hours/water. Hopefully she can get some rest now. Poor thing. 😦
She’ll be on crutches for at least 6 weeks and out of work for who knows how long. She can’t drive herself there, it’s a hundred miles round trip.
Obviously, we could use some prayer please.
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Praying, AJ. 😦 What a seemingly crummy thing to happen out of the blue like that. This stuff just flips everything upside down for a while. Prayers for her comfort and recovery — prayers also for you as you take on more. And prayers for all of you as you grow through it, leaning even more on God’s strength and grace.
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That must have been quite a misstep.
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Out here, we only know one person who was paid for his internship. Everyone else is unpaid. That includes all those kids who want to go to medical school and need 1000 hours of either paid or volunteer work to apply. My daughter has maybe one friend who actually had a job in the medical field toward that 1000 hours? She herself sought work for 11 months, volunteering as she went–she got nearly all her hours as an unpaid intern, working 50 miles one way from her college. We had to buy her a car so she could get to her unpaid internship.
I don’t know how people do this, much less kids from impoverished homes.
We also know few kids who got jobs in their fields out of college, including the engineers.
Even Berkeley engineering graduates were having trouble landing jobs the last couple years. Hopefully things have improved lately, but judging by the number of applicants for the most recent internship at my husband’s company, not likely. 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people
One of the reasons so many companies ask for a college degree for even a basic entrance job is because the laws have changed about what can be asked in the application process, according to a friend of mine. Since companies are banned by law from giving entrance tests to determine what applicants know, companies just opt to require a degree.
That should imply basic literacy, right?
The other problem we’re seeing is kids don’t get a foot in the door to start until they’re much older. In CA you have to be 18 to work at McDonald’s; that lessens the availability for kids to get work experience.
So many keep going to school and taking classes, hoping one more degree or certification will make a difference in their ability to get hired. For most, they just need experience, not a job.
Many companies take advantage of that need by offering internships, but don’t pay a thing.
It’s a travesty and wrong, in my opinion. See my blog post: http://michelleule.com/2015/06/12/do-society-a-favor-hire-a-young-person/
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Our interns get $500 a week, I think ?
When they leave in a couple weeks — along with one of our reporters whose last day is this Friday as she prepares to take another job outside of the industry — the newsroom will have a scary absence of breathing people.
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