Sanguine About the Future

P lost his job less than three months ago. He called me yesterday from his new office in San Francisco. He had landed a position at a growing company in the same industry. I told him that he should buy me lunch because he’s raking in the dough; not only is he making a higher salary but he’s still receiving severance from his previous employer. He cheerfully agreed.

Meanwhile, over thirty people celebrated the career of L, a 19-year veteran who’s now a victim of downsizing. Jokes were told, memories were shared, and praises were sung. The outpouring of emotions, assisted by the spiciness of the Hunan Restaurant’s cuisine, brought tears to our eyes.

I caught up with a couple of individuals who had been looking for employment when I last saw them. They both were working and were sanguine about the future. The local economy is very strong, and, just from my limited personal perspective, it feels like the best job market I’ve seen in many years. L, the departing veteran, already had something lined up in September and is taking the summer off.

The steady drumbeat of bad news about the war, high gas prices, global warming, illegal immigration, and school violence can’t help but sour our outlook, but the daily lives of most friends and acquaintances are going remarkably well. To paraphrase Groucho, who do you believe, the TV news or your own eyes? © 2007 Stephen Yuen