My Dear Cousin - Time Off

                                                    10^th May 2021

My Dear Cousin,

Where I left you in my last letter I was twenty two, unemployed, and too ill to go back to work. I had worked myself so hard that I had enough money in the bank to last for a few months, but unemployment benefits were out of the question.

For the one part, there is no pay for a man too sick to work, and for another, technology had made them difficult to get. Back then you had to verify job interviews and filling out an application on line was just not going to cut it.

I have to admit that for the first time in my life I had time to do things, and I went out a lot more for about four or five months. To be honest I had suffered trauma and I really needed the time off. It was hard for me to get back into work but eventually I ran out of money.

It didn’t help that the family was pounding on me to go back to work, but the last month there I couldn’t pay my bills so I took another security job. This was the year after the trade tower attack, and 9/11 left Americans wanting more security but not wanting to pay more for it. The economic troubles of the time didn’t help much.

When I got back working (Pony Girl) wanted me to pay her back for covering my bills. This was not for the one month that she did so but for the eight months I was out of work. I was furious, having put her up for free for her last two years of college, and I wanted to be compensated for that.

For the next four years I would struggle fiscally with (Pony Girl) always making demands on me wanting me to pay for things that I felt I shouldn’t have to until I graduated college. After all, when she was in college I paid for all home repairs for a home we three had the same responsibility to keep.

I was angry, and I felt abandoned. I asked myself if things could get any worse but the worst was indeed yet to come.

Best,

 

Richard Leland Neal

My 9/11 Story

Saturday is normally off limits for Letters to Cassi, but this experience is one I will never forget.

Best wishes to all those who lost loved ones in the attack and the events that took place afterword.

11^th September 2011

Dear Cassi,

America today sits and reflects on the events of ten years ago wondering how the world has changed. I can still recall the events of that day clearly.

   

I was painting the bed room so the bed was moved out and I was sleeping in my favorite chair when my brother-in-law, he was still my sister’s boyfriend at the time, woke me to show me the news of the towers going down. I didn’t understand at first.

   

Then I got the call to come into work. I was ordered to report to the department of public works. When I arrived I was enlisted in the evacuation of the building. I recall thinking to myself that the danger was small after the attack. The possibility of another attack the same day was a remote one, but in truth it was better to be safe than sorry.  

   

I was relieved by an armed security officer a few hours later, but was ordered to report to a chemical plant. I spent and uneventful day there. The attack had created a need for security officers. Everyone wanted to be safe, but the average pay for security personnel dropped after 9/11.

   

How did the world change? For the average Security Guard it’s still the same. It’s an under-appreciated but necessary job.

Stay safe, Cassi,

Richard Leland Neal