I need help. I am now desperate and have run out of options. I have fought as hard as I can against the Bush regime, but by Friday, I may no longer be able to fight. I am writing this diary as my last resort at keeping me and my family from homelessness. I am already a casualty because of my political beliefs, but we received a "fatal blow" two weeks ago that has finally pushed our family to the brink.
Any small donation you could spare to help keep a roof over our head while my wife and I continue our search for jobs would be greatly appreciated. Even if it is $5 or $10, every little bit will help. If it were just for me, I would not have even consider writing this diary asking for help, but I must think of my three children and how they will be effected. My wife and I feel so powerless right now, so we are placing our faith in the community and letting fate take its course. Our story is below the fold.
Update 1:
The total this morning is $2508.83. Thank you to all those who chose to help. I am really touched by the generosity and caring. I know you understand how tough it was for me to reach out for help and would have never done so without encouragement from others. It is my hope to someday soon be able to repay everyone's kindness.
But along with that kindness there also came an element of distrust and ridicule. I do not know what I might have done had not Detroit Mark, Alma, Tahoebasha2, Urban Legend and other come to my aid. This was what I feared most; that I would become an object of ridicule with my personal information on display for the world to see. As people read this update and go over the comments, it is my hope people will come away with some insight at what paranoia and distrust will do. It turned things with a perfectly plausible explanation into a conspiracy monster.
Another update will follow......(not ready, I must nap after a sleepless night)
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Any small donation to keep us from being evicted will be greatly appreciated.
I am currently unemployed and I was terminated for posting this essay by Cindy Sheehan on the office bulletin board. We were a single income family of five. I made a decent living and our needs and expenses were not large.
Ever since my termination, I have diligently looked for other employment. At first I thought, no problem, I am highly employable. I can find another job pretty quickly, but I soon found out that was not the case. What I did find is that I am largely ignored by most employers and my twenty six weeks of unemployment quickly ran out. In order to make ends meet, I used my retirement investment savings, which are now completely exhausted.
My home was foreclosed on and we were forced to move in May. We rented a house with the last of our retirement savings. This is where we currently reside and also of which, we now owe back rent on through August.
After moving, I finally caught a break in late June. I was called for an interview by a direct competitor of my last employer. After several interviews and testing, the company made me an offer of employment on the 2nd of August. This was contingent upon a physical, which included drug screening, and a background/reference check. I accepted the offer. Six weeks later, my offer was rescinded for failing the background check. [Strange, since I had recently held a TSBI clearance with the military]
Three months and I had nothing to show. Additionally, after I had accepted the offer, I stopped looking, applying and interviewing for jobs. This meant that after my job offer was rescinded, I didn't have any new job leads, making matters all the worse. Fortunately though, that same week, my wife found a job as an executive assistant working for a rabbi. This lasted for five weeks. The news of her being laid off was devastating.
The landlord, who really has been a saint, has allowed us to continue living here while we were searching for employment. However, we understand that he too has bills to pay and cannot continue support and house us indefinitely. It did not help our cause that my wife and I had opportunities that fell through and in light of this; he has given us until Friday to make some remuneration before he initiates any action. For this, we do not blame him in the least.
Some quick facts about myself: I have a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. I am a retired officer from the US Army Reserve and was honorably discharged in September of 2003. I retired at the rank of Major and I am a member of the US Army Chemical Corps.
While serving on active duty, I worked alongside this officer as a peer. We worked in the S3 section of this unit. I also earned a unit coin from this unit from the battalion commander who would eventually author this publication. As a reserve officer, I was in the G3 of this unit. Later, I served in third brigade of this unit providing training assistance and evaluations to these units: here, here, and here.
