When Recession Hits ...

Like everyone else these days, I know several people who have lost their jobs because of the recession. I feel awful for them and I hope they can find meaningful work soon. But if I may, please let me give you this one bit of advice:

Don't Be Like This Guy!

At 7:30 yesterday morning I got out of the Metro and this dude was trying to get people (in the pouring rain, no less) to get excited and interested in some product that had something to do with buzzkill. I don't know if it was gum or coffee or a home-based enema kit. Either way, the dude was in a rain storm dressed like a frickin bee.

Now, it would be wrong to make fun of him without admitting that I, too, have donned a costume for a job before. I once worked a kids playground where I had to dress up on occasion as a gigantic red giraffe. Hey, what can I say? It was 1993 and they paid higher than minimum wage. Plus I quit after working there for about 3 months, so I at least left with a shred of pride (as opposed to an old friend who worked there for like 2 years before getting canned). Anyway, at least I was 15 when I worked that job. This guy was like late-30s or early-40s. So I hope they were paying more than minimum wage. Otherwise, I'd be holding out for something better.