Dear Jim:
Ordinarily, I would not start a letter to a Senator by using their first name, but since you think you know me so well, I figured I would, could and should return in kind. You see, Jim, I am unemployed and I understand that you are standing in the way of me paying my mortgage.
You might feel that your first priority is the country’s deficit but I will not apologize when I say I am worried about MY deficit. I lost my job because my company shut down. Prior to this, I had worked since I was in high school. Other than an injury, vacation and holidays, I have worked every day since the age of 16 until things began to take a turn for the worse in the United States and companies, mine included, could no longer stay in business.
So, Jim, I’ve gotta take you off my Christmas card list and I’m gonna stay in my seat the next time your are announced onto the field during a Phillies game. Oh, that’s right, if I can’t pay my mortgage, I certainly can’t attend any more Phillies games. I’ll stay firmly planted on my couch then. Oh, that’s right, if I can’t pay my mortgage my husband and I may have to move in with my parents and they don’t have cable.
If you don’t want to grant me an extension on my unemployment compensation, then how about finding me a job? Because while you’re sitting in Washington, DC trying to block a bill that will allow people like me to pay their bills, I’m here on the computer, every day, searching for a job, making calls and connecting with people and businesses that might be able to use my particular experience and skills, laying awake at night with worry, by day alternating between panic and numbness.
With disbelief and disgust,
Sister Rain
