The Dropouts

The economy in this country-- and for that matter, in this world-- has created a brand-new socio-economic class.  I call us "The Dropouts."

I was first aware of this phenomenon during a short volunteer stint at an AM radio station in Avon Park, Florida in October of 2010.  One of the weekly regulars was a fellow whose on-air name was Timmy Z.

Unlike many of the "paid" local Highlands County radio personnel, this guy actually had a trained "radio voice" and could read copy and sound like he wasn't reading.  He wasn't paid for his on-air time, I don't believe, but he did sell advertisements for the station on commission and Lake Verona Lodge Bed & Breakfast purchased one. Tim did the voice on one of the two spots and I did the other.  Both were good.

I met Timmy and several others, including my friend Tonya, at the radio station.  That was the first place in the small town that I really felt a "meeting of the minds" of youthful energy and intelligence.  In fact, I remembered having a conversation with Timmy in which we actually mused aloud "why are two smart people like you and I here in a small demographically-challenged town in central Florida and unemployed?"

Timmy had a very interesting story, most of which I can't remember, but I do remember that he did an exceptional job of doing color commentary for the local basketball team which was then called the Heartland Prowl.  Tonya had some kind of position (also unpaid) with the Prowl and apparently she had hooked them up with the radio station, which was a cool collaboration.

I also remember that Timmy told us his Highlands County home was currently in foreclosure but that the banks were so overwhelmed with the foreclosures that he felt he had some time before becoming homeless.  I know that he had a wife and kids, and I know that on one of his less cheerful moments on radio (and there weren't many, to his credit) he was asking listeners for help on how to relieve a toothache.  No dental coverage for him, no doubt.

The radio station in that short-lived incarnation eventually withered away under the harsh economic climate of Highlands County, and was sold by Dave, the well-meaning philanthropist who tried to get it going as an alternative talk station.  I believe Dave had health issues of some long standing.  His young wife Madonna was nothing short of genius on the mixing board, and she and I once discussed the possibility of my helping her learn some programming language someday.  Yes - she too was unemployed.

The end of the story is unknown to me for many of these characters.  No one in my Facebook circle ever heard from Timmy Z again and we can only speculate that his home was foreclosed and he had to move somewhere - or maybe he actually got a job as opposed to becoming homeless.  I only pray things got better for Timmy.

Tonya was eventually able to find work in Highlands County as a receptionist at a senior home, where her sunny disposition keeps the residents laughing while she bites her tongue to hold back her strong opinions and thereby keeps her job.  She just recently purchased a home with her significant other and they are doing well.

There are so many others of these Dropouts that do not have happy endings to their stories yet, including myself.  Many of us are under that magic age of 55 where we have little if any hope of getting any type of government subsidies.  Many others are either receiving social security and/or unemployment but are afraid of losing what they are getting.

Most of these are women.  Many have had rough lives including multiple marriages and dysfunctional blood families going back for generations.  Our stories are diverse but with common threads: the economy has ejected us forcefully from our once lucrative careers into such "career paths" as fast-food, waiting tables, substitute teaching, seasonal work, and editing from home in increments of $.60.  Few of us are receiving unemployment benefits, or they have run out.

The one thing we all have in common:  we are all very strong, and we keep putting one foot in front of the other somehow every day.  The world will jeer and laugh and disrespect us, but we just keep on going.

We all hope to have happy endings to our currently not-so-happy stories.