Yes, sigh, Yes, sigh YESSSSS!

I want to see this added to the health care reform bill...

h/t dome on the range

The Heartache in the Heartland

With the growth of my employer, my duties have taken me to places in my country that I never expected to visit.

This week, I affectionately referred to as hell week. Six states in four days.

My second stop took me to St. Louis. The purpose was a site visit with one of my more challenging clients. 

Rather than fly, which was option available to her, she drove for four hours for our meeting. By her own admission, she has control issues. Being a recovering control freak, I am a little sympathetic to her plight. Believe me, life cures you of that crap.

After taking care of the core purpose of our visit we had dinner at a local Bar-B-Q joint. 

I'm not sure why, but she shared her story with me. She was born in a tiny City in Kansas which now has a population 0f 4690. I did not leave out any zeroes.

At age six she moved into a Children's Home in St. Louis. Why? Due to her father's alcohol driven abuse, her mother left her and her brother. Her father did unspeakable things to them. She spoke out and she was banished to the Children's Home and her family shunned her.

Sadly, this was and is typical behavior in the City that she grew up in. Her brother is in jail for the same reason. Failure to condemn this behavior, you are truly doomed to repeat it.

Another common practice is for men in their 50s to marry teenagers. Parents routinely, sign off and celebrate the nuptials. We are talking 14 and 15  year olds folks.

She was the first in her family to finish high school. Graduating with an Associates degree further separated her from her community. She did not encounter her first black person until she went to college. She assured me, the only black people these folks see are on TV. Voting for a woman was worse than voting for a black man.

There are no jobs, welfare and drug distribution are the norm. The goals of the menfolk are to obtain:

                                                                 * pickup truck

                                                                 * coon dog

                                                                 * rifle

                                                                 * woman

in that order.

She knows when it is payday. Why? The men pull up in their pickups and the women sign their checks over to them.  Her refusal to play by these rules have left her without a man.

Through her religion, she is not longer blaming herself for her parents behavior. She is working on the whole forgiveness thing. Ugh.

Self-esteem? Her therapist and music have helped her on her journey.

She currently works as a Risk Manager for an organization with 90 sites. She lives in a home nestled on 18 acres filled with peaches, cherries and blackberries. When she retires, she plans on becoming a missionary. She wants to do good before she leaves this planet.

If her story is the norm, why doesn't the media cover these stories? Armed with no education or social skills, how the hell can these people compete in a global economy? How is this any different than the urban crisis? Drugs, alcohol, violence are all mental health issues.

This my Country for Heaven's sake. We need to invest in our citizens.

I am appalled and saddened.

At the risk of repeating myself, we are in the middle of a class war. Those being exploited are blinded by their prejudices to join forces with their urban citizens against the true culprits. Let's start with Shrub and finish with McCain.

My client's pain sits on the surface. I truly hope she finds peace.

   

No trespassing......

Greetings from Topeka! I must confess that is a salutation that I NEVER thought I would write. I am here on business. Of course, getting here was a quest. No direct flights. After a rocky transition flight from Chicago to Kansas City, I took a 90 minute shuttle ride to the Ramada Inn. (The choices were limited.)

I was the first to board. I was greeted by a middle-age bespectacled blond Richard the Roadrunner driver. He immediately asked me why I was standing where he picked me up. "Your dispatcher told me to stand outside and just wave when I saw the van." He assured me that he could drive through just about everything including tornadoes and flying cars. I assume he was kidding. I hope he was kidding. The next to board was a middle-aged man dressed in shorts. Richard asked him if he was military. Nope, he replied and retreated to the back of the van. A well dressed twenty something passenger hopped on board. He registered on line. Richard struggled with Raj's name. He looked at him and queried, "visiting our country I will not attempt to pronounce your name." Raj stared at him and said "No" and retreated to his seat. The final passenger was, how can I say this, an older woman. Without skipping a beat, Richard asks her if she is eligible for the senior citizen discount. She glared at him and said "NO." We rode quietly to Topeka with rap music playing in the background. I was surprised by the choice of music. The homes were non-descript. Mostly, browns and grays interspersed with farmland. Billboards advertising bus trips and casinos doted the landscape. The heartland of America.

The welcome to Topeka, Kansas sign is planted in the lawn of the local prison. The prison sits opposite of the State Capitol. Did I mention the other sign in the prison? 

No trespassing.....

When we arrived at the drab hotel, I had to wonder if the prisoners got the better accommodations.