My business is dead. I'm broke. I lost my star. I can't donate to DU.

[Billy Burnett]

Thanks to the Milton Friedman economy. :puke:

We've put a kid thru school, have a house and have lived modestly all of our life.

I had the f-ing GUTWRENCHING task of having to let go of my employees after going broke trying to keep them employed and business moving. Gutwrenching.

I should've taken that BP post prod. project I turned down (on principle) a couple of months ago. I could've hung on for a few more weeks had I taken it.

Our choices, and our kid's choices, are few. Very few.

It's tough trying to stay positive.



:(

[Subdivisions]

1. Wow, Bllly, I'm so sorry it's gotten this bad for you. Do you

have any idea what you'll do next?

[Billy Burnett]

4. Try to make ends meet driving endless miles to play in smoky clubs.

That is a tough nut to crack in these times too. Especially for an old road worn fart.

Thanks. :hi:

[Edweird]

94. Are you the Billy Burnette from Memphis?

[HowHasItComeToThis]

76. BANKERS SCREWED CARTER TO GET RAYGUN IN.

NOW THEY WILL SCREW OBAMA TO GET ANOTHER REPUBLITURD IN.

HOW MUST CAN WE ENDURE

[phantom power]

2. man, somebody actually unrecced this? wtf??

x(

[Skittles]

31. it's one of, you know, "those people"

who think everything is peachy keen

[emilyg]

48. If I knew who it is I'd

break their friggin' fingers.

[Divine Discontent]

88. I'll get Thor to loan you his Hammer!

some people just can't bear to think of their idolized version of the truth being sullied by...


what's it called????????


Oh yeah,


FACT.

[Enthusiast]

93. DU is full of stealth Republicans. nt

[nightrain]

3. knr. How terribly sad. You deserve more, and we all do....

[Billy Burnett]

5. Thank you to the angel who contributed in my name.

I have been blessed. Thank you so much. :hug:

[dotymed]

99. Billy

My first post here was because an anonymous DU'er donated for me. I know what you are going through. Me too, in a different way. God bless.

[Steely_Dan]

6. Hang In There...

My thoughts are with you.

-PLA

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

7. That is fucked up. Milton Friedman economy is right on. It's a damn shame I really enjoy

your posts. What was your business?

[Billy Burnett]

8. Audio pre/post production & sweetening.

I'm also a pretty versatile musician.

I'm making arrangements to close my studio location. I'll be able to do some work at home, but I feel badly that I'm taking part in the contraction of the economy by doing so.

I'm not leaving DU for sure.

Thanks for your comment.

:hi:

[juajen]

58. It'll be ok, Billy. We joined in the same year and these past years have

been really strange, some years terrifying and some gratifying. Hang in there. We're in this boat together, we just gotta keep rowing.

[calimary]

83. Shit! I hate to see musicians and artists going through this.

Somebody posted here about bankers screwing Jimmy Carter to get reagan in. I can't help wondering if that's happening to Obama now. Pretty upsetting what's happening especially when you look at the projections for election day.

AWFUL.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear Billy Burnett!

I was going to buy you a star, but someone beat me to it!

Well, at least I can K&R...

I'm wishing you all sorts of good vibes and luck that things will turn around soon for you and your family...

:hug:

[Billy Burnett]

15. Thank you so much.

I'm really bummed that the dashing of my dream and decades of hard work has also set back my former dedicated employees, who had worked hard also to keep it all afloat.

There is simply no work.

:hug:

[MissDeeds]

25. Same here

I just got home and checked DU. Kudos to the good DUer who stepped up!

:yourock:

[Mika]

10. Oh NO!

Hey man, hang in there.

If you need anything - anything that will help out that I can do - you be sure to let me know.

Billy, I owe you all, and more. :hug:

Very very sorry to hear this.

Call me.

---

[Billy Burnett]

16. Thanks Mika.

You owe me nothing.

Will call soon.

:hi:

[SOS]

11. You are not alone, Wall Street greed ended our American Dream

"structural problems require structural solutions"

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[midnight]

20. This didn't have to be. Why do we accept a jobless recovery

program from a govt. who gives our jobs/training to oversea companies? How patriotic is that? How safe is high unemployment for national security?

[grasswire]

21. why indeed?

Four actions would immediately turn this economy around. But apparently we Democrats are too weak to demand them.

1. Tax the rich for their fair share.
2. Enact legislation to end corporate welfare.
3. Enact legislation that would discourage offshoring of jobs and encourage returning jobs to the U.S.
4. Pass a significant stimulus of $5000 to every adult making less than $100,000/yr.

The economy would turn on a dime.

But I guess Americans are too addicted to misery to want these to happen.

I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles, friend.

[BrklynLiberal]

41. Great dieas...each one of them...and there is no good reason why they should not be implemented.

[pokercat999]

45. #3 is primary and MUST be done if we are to survive as a

leading economy. Unless #3 is solidly in place and returning manufacturing jobs back to the US by the millions then #4 would simply be sending the money overseas.

[Billy Burnett]

54. Kick for this post.

Thanks for posting.

:hi:

[FredStembottom]

81. Tariffsat the border.

It worked from about 1776 until 1980!

[Jackpine Radical]

69. Start a public works program

to build a green infrastructure for power, transportation, and communications (including high speed internet for everyone).

[dotymed]

100. Add Universal Health Care

and these actions would really save our country..

[eagertolearn]

103. You are so right. Our current system of "unhealth care" is the anchor

on our sinking economy. The republican leadership is throwing more and more weights on the anchor to make sure no one but the captains survive.

[Autumn Colors]

22. I know how you feel

I own a medical transcription business, but my profession is going the way of the dinosaurs due to a combination of electronic medical record systems, voice recognition software improvements, and Indian med. students who work for slave wages (that I can't possibly compete with and still break even). In the last 2 months, I had to lay off all of my medical transcriptionists (MTs) and go back to doing it all myself. I saw this coming as our workload was going down (our major client was nice enough to let us know that they were switching to an EMR system a couple months ahead of time), so I gave all my MTs as much warning as I could and thankfully, they all found other jobs within a matter of a couple weeks. Now I'm back to doing all the typing myself again with no backup if I get sick or if I get a day where the workload is suddenly 3-4x normal (so I bust my butt to make the deadline).

It was heartbreaking to let everyone go. I've already had to drop my health insurance because I can't afford it and also keep a roof over my head. I just hope the workload doesn't go down further and that I don't get sick because I'll be well and truly f***ed.

It sucks all around.

PS: If anyone out there knows of a medical practice/clinic that is thinking of changing transcription services, please send me a private message. My MTs have all told me they'd come back with no hesitation if we got enough work that I could rehire them and guarantee steady work.

[lb rox]

59. I know how you feel, part deux

I've been a medical language specialist for 30 years. Three years ago I was doing great and making a very comfortable living! Then my MTSO retired and sent me a fax giving me two weeks' notice that I would be laid off permanently. (She didn't even have the grace to call me personally to let me know, after eight years of working with her and having a very good relationship with her.) Now, due to the same combination of issues you mention, I'm working twice as many hours to make half as much money with a large company that treats me like a number instead of a highly experienced MT. It's disheartening to say the least, not to mention I'm getting older and my carpal tunnels aren't what they once were and they're really taking a beating now.

I feel for OP too. From 1980 through the early 21st century I was a regional and studio musician and did part-time medical transcription. I live in a lightly populated area, so I had to travel many, many miles for most opportunities. Gas prices were rising and wages weren't, and around that same time I suffered a severe back injury, so I "retired" from the road and went to full-time transcription, and now here I am, struggling to make ends meet.

I don't know what's going to become of us. I agree it sucks all around. All I know to do is wish both of you all the very best and keep on keeping on as long as I am able, and hope things don't get much worse before they start getting better.

Good luck!!

[Autumn Colors]

64. Thanks, I worked in music for a while, too

From mid-80s to early 90s, I worked in music, mostly in artist management, but did a couple of brief stints at labels and was married to a drum tech for a long time, too. The bands he works for (world famous) do fewer and fewer public gigs and do more and more private "corporate" gigs and even parties at the homes of the ultra wealthy (reduced to being private minstrels for the ultra-rich). I see the change for people in music (not just the musicians). I have one friend with decades of experiencing in dealing with music publishing and licensing paperwork as part of her past jobs, but she kept getting laid off as the major labels cannibalized each other and she ended up living on friends' couches and came very close to being homeless, but lucked into a job and an apt at the last minute. She's just barely hanging on and not working in music anymore.

I'll make a note of your DU name and if things turn around on this end and I ever need more help than my original MTs, I'll get in touch. I'm not sure I could offer much more than the large company is paying. I'm trying to stay optimistic, but it's getting harder and harder.

I used to transcribe for a hand surgeon who would lecture me about typing no more than 6 hours in a day, no more than 1 hour without a break, and be sure to take a vitamin B6 supplement daily. If you haven't tried one already, invest in a "natural" (split) keyboard. It takes about a half-hour of typing to get used to it, but totally worth it. I used to get wrist aches all the time, but this keyboard really makes a difference.

Thanks for your post.

[earth mom]

23. So sorry to hear this. Hope things get better soon!

:grouphug:

[Liberal_in_LA]

24. kick. Looks like someone donated for you.

[EFerrari]

26. Estamos en las mismas, same here.

Every day is a little scary. If Obama ever decides to really do something about these banks or jobs, it will probably be too late for us.

Hang in, Billy. Something has to shake out. :hug:

[Billy Burnett]

28. Thank you, EFerrari

US production of entertainment and advertising products is on the skids.

Looks like I'll be hitting the lonesome and tiresome road again. :(

Thanks for the best wishes. :hug:

[BallardWA]

27. Oh dear, I am so sorry to hear this-

Our business is hanging by a thread, and today we learned two things: one, a business just like ours that we've worked with many times has gone under, and two, that a company that owes us 10 thousand dollars can't pay us. We have payroll on Tuesday and don't know how we're going to meet it. We have been putting payrolls on credit cards when things got tight for at least a year now, but all of our credit cards are maxed out. I wish you well on this journey through hell. We're right there with you. I've got to believe that somehow things are going to turn around, that this crucible is going to refine all of us. Be well, my friend.

[Billy Burnett]

29. Sorry to hear about your problems too.

I did the same to the business credit cards too. For the last while anything that came in was reserved to pay employees.

Plus, the kid moved back home a few months ago. He's gone bust too. Love him to death, and seeing what's available for him as a job is disheartening at best. He's been thru 5 boiler room jobs (all insurance or re-fi sales commission pay based scams) in 6 months. There's nothing else out there for young people with no trade.

I feel very badly for my wife who is enduring not only our economic trapeze act, but also two disgruntled men moping about scheming ways to scrounge a buck.

Thanks for your kind words.

I hope things work out for your biz.

:hi:

[Mimosa]

30. Billy, my prayers go out to you and your family

I want you to bounce back and prosper.

What has happened to this country is a disaster.

Things could be changed if policies were changed. We need to make things here again so people can afford them. Corporations who outsource ought to be taxed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. Somebody beat me to it

the star that is

:-)

Hang in there buddy, we are all struggling.

[McCamy Taylor]

33. You're right. It is tough trying to stay positive. You have every right to be angry.

[Barack2theFuture]

34. Hi Billy.

Do you do mastering?

[webDude]

35. Hang in there! My prayers are with you.

[eridani]

36. Just a side note

Hearing from all the small business owners in this thread, why in bloody fucking HELL does anyone think that tax breaks and tax credits will do anything? All I'm hearing is that the big problem is NO CUSTOMERS. The solution to that is a massive government jobs program, fast.

[Ikonoklast]

56. Oh, you are dead wrong on this one.

When my fuel bill comes in at the end of the month, and it's usually around $6800-$7200 0r so, I pay it off with tax breaks.

Same with repair bills, except I pay the shop with a nice bundle of tax credits.

The grocery store is a little problematic, they still think that currency is soooo important for some reason, and just won't accept my argument that tax breaks for small businesses are just as good as real income, and should be accepted as payment.

Let's not even talk about what the bank said about the mortgage payment.

And for some strange reason, when figuring my quarterlies for the IRS they will only take dollars. I just can't convince them that me giving them a nice little tax break can work for them, just peachy-like.




If tax breaks are the panacea for everything that ever ailed our economy, why is it that after thirty years of this shitty policy things are in the toilet?

I know! More tax breaks will solve that little problem!

[Hannah Bell]

79. big corps get money back for theirs, why can't you?

they sell them, too.

at least the energy ones, i've learned.

[DiehardLiberal]

78. Absolutely!

I'm a 62 yr old widow with no kids. I built my business after my husband died 7 yrs ago and was pretty successful. I thought if I continued to work hard, I'd be ok. Not so. I've been on a downward spiral for the past 2 years - laying off employees, cutting expenses, using the proceeds from a 2nd that was supposed to go to home improvement/maintenance to pay bills. I'm almost out of reserves and have had 0 phone calls this month. Business is tied to the housing market. I've always been super responsible and fairly intelligent as I was a NASA scientist in my last career. Was turned down for health insurance today. Turned down for loan mod on my first last week. I'm screwed. Next month will be the first time in almost 40 years that I won't be making my mortgage payment. I've made mistakes - trusted too much. But I stand to lose it all...What will become of me? I need business! Tax breaks will do nothing now nor helped before. I'm so scared...

[Autumn Colors]

104. My problem could be improved ....

if only congress would change the HIPAA regulations (patient privacy laws) making it illegal for patient information including dictation of reports to be sent outside the USA with the sole exception being the exchange of files between treating doctors if said patient is being treated outside the USA. This wouldn't solve the technological advancements putting me and others in my field out of work, but we would at least be able to do the work for physicians who prefer to dictate their reports and correspondence.

Yes, we need customers, but we need to stop outsourcing in this field because doing so pretty much makes a joke of "patient privacy laws" when people's private files are sent to places where those laws don't apply.

[readmoreoften]

37. I'm sorry. :(

[OneGrassRoot]

38. Yep, you have every right to feel exactly as you do...

not that you need me or anyone else to tell you that, of course.

I am so damn sorry...so sorry. :cry:

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

[Stinky The Clown]

39. Lots of deleted messages. I can only imagine.

Billy, hang in there. That's hardly advice, just an acknowledgment that I care.

[asdjrocky]

40. If anyone deserves a star, you do Billy.

I know how you feel, really I do.

And I know, in times like these, even those words can seem a bit empty, but they are sincere.

[Bluenorthwest]

42. Oh, man, you make good music.

I'm very sorry about, and very familiar with you current state of stuffs. All the best to you, your family, and know that you are not alone, not alone.

[lunatica]

43. I'm really sorry you have to go through this

I can't imagine how much harder it is to let your employees go after fighting so hard to keep them. I can't donate to DU or to anything else either. I just declared bankruptcy last month. I do still have my jobs though but I can't make ends meet and I have to default on my Equity payments. I'm still making my mortgage so maybe they won't foreclose on me too soon.

[MinneapolisMatt]

44. I know it matters little,

and doesn't pay any bills, but well, I feel like telling you I love you and your family.

Sorry if it's gauche, but I do. You hang in there.

It's just been shit for the last several years. We're all in this together. No matter what, we're still here.

Is there anything we can do? Big/small?

-Matt

[ozymandius]

46. I am so sorry.

I used to do that kind of work. It's been tough to make a living over the past ten years. Milton Friedman economy is right. In medieval times - people used to exhume people like him to execute the remains.

[John Agar]

47. We are feeling it too.

I wish you all the best!

[Abq_Sarah]

49. I'm sorry to hear this

There are a whole lot of us hanging on by our fingernails who will be "former business owners" within the next year. :(

[flyarm]

50. So So sorry !! My heart breaks for you and your family! Don't worry though Obama said the economy

is coming back today! Seriously he said that.. Is there anyone in this White House that has a finger on reality????

My sister didn't get 3 weeks paychecks because no one is paying her boss's company..three weeks..she is a single mom and lives paycheck to paycheck..she has a mortgage she was late pying and all her bills are late.
Through no fault of her own..and this is the third time since May she hasn't gotten paid.

Thank god I can help her out, but what if she didn't have me? She would not be able to buy groceries, or pay her bills. People everywhere are hurting..except the Bankers and the Stock market guys..

I am so sorry..sincerely , my heart breaks ..so many Americans have been so fucked.

I guess now I will be called a hater ..right?

[Fire1]

51. I know the feeling. I recently retired but need to get back into

the workforce. Too young for SS and too old to be employed. Ten years ago, I never would've imagined everything so screwed up. It's really depressing but try to hang in there.

[femrap]

52. You have

some damn good Karma that will come back and touch you and your family in a most delightful way.

O8)

[democrank]

53. Try to keep your chin up

and know you are not alone. ~PEACE~

[Billy Burnett]

55. Thanks to all DUers for your well wishes. Too many to reply to 1 on 1..

I am humbled.

Thank you to all. :grouphug:

[mmonk]

57. I understand. I've been self employed most of my adult life.

My fingernails are hurting. I wish the best for you and your family.

[pitohui]

60. my business has been dead for a year

no checks for a year, no checks ever again

don't know what to say, it's rough friend

i would have taken the BP project if offered, you say "post production," is that for an ad?

BP owes us this $, never feel bad about taking it is my opinion

[JDPriestly]

61. I'm really sorry to hear about this.

[CocaNova]

62. I'm truly sorry.

After my accident 3 years ago I lost everything,nobody would hire someone in my condition so I can relate a little to your situation.I wish you the best of luck.:hug:

[laughingliberal]

63. Sorry to hear about this. Right there with you. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

65. Sorry to hear that. I was almost there a few months ago

It's scary to see all the empty storefronts, and it seems that no one in Washington cares.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

66. Feel for ya ...

Same in my biz (service, cleaning), people just are not calling.
going broke and getting crazy finding new marketing systems.

Hang in there, we have too, it's all we have.

[DFW]

67. SO sorry to hear this

There have been so damn many individual stories like Billy's. Massed together they are just a statistic, but
told one by one, they paint a mosaic that is composed of a lot of little pieces of heartbreak. The statistic
can be discussed on the Sunday talk shows, the individual stories are not.

I wish every one of these stories could be sent to the White House, so that when they crow about things slowly
picking up (and who knows, maybe statistically, they are), they are NOT picking up, not even slowly for too many.

Just like executing one innocent prisoner is FAR too many, a claim of an improving economy is no consolation to
an individual person whose last dime just went rolling out the door without so much as a farewell note.

[mckara]

68. Don't You Remember? It's Morning in America!

Neoliberal Economics: turn the middle-class into serfs!

I cannot believe all the stupid Americans who voted against their interests by voting for Republicans!

[Iwillnevergiveup]

70. Oh, Billy Burnett

My heart goes out to you and your family. Things must and will get better for someone like yourself who puts employees so high on your list of priorities.

Big K&R

:hug:

[ChoppinBroccoli]

71. If It's Any Consolation.............

..............I'm in the same boat (I know it's not any consolation to you, but misery sometimes does love company). My law practice that has been up and running for the last 10 years has been slowly dying ever since Bushonomics really took hold. Now I'm at the point where I'm about 90% certain I'm going to be shutting it down and going to work for the State. Over the years, the phone has just stopped ringing. And the rare times that it does ring, it's harder and harder to hook a client because nobody out there has any money. Now tell how the Republicans are "business-friendly." Sorry, assholes, but more tax cuts aren't going to do a God Damned thing for my failing business. Taxes aren't the reason my business is slowly sinking. I need clients, just like any business needs patrons. Preferably ones with money. If the American public doesn't have any extra money, guess what happens to American businesses. But by all means, tell me that tax cuts will solve my problems.

What's really gut-wrenching about it is that WE are the ones who played by THEIR right-wing rules for success. They said get an education. We did. Now we're being crippled by outrageous student loan payments. They said start a business. We did. And their economy killed it.

And what kills me is how NOT uncommon stories like ours are. It makes me wonder why anyone would ever listen to a Republican when one starts blathering on about how to make it in America. They all have loads of advice. Unfortunately, the only way THEY make it in America is by choosing the right parents.

[lonestarnot]

72. I'm sorry Billy Burnett. I know exactly how you feel.

:(

[hayu_lol]

74. The DU stories are almost endless...

from both the owners/operators of small businesses and individuals who have always found jobs to keep their families going. I see little difference between the depression years of the 30s and today except for the superficial changes in life patterns caused by technological changes(i.e.,small businesses instead of small family farms that have or will failed/fail).

The story patterns are all similar...people cannot find work to keep their heads above water.

Liked the suggestions...but have thought that $10,000 to every adult in the country making less than $35,000/year would at least be an immediate kickstart to a dead economy. Tax breaks, favorite 'tool' of politicians aren't worth spit when cash is needed.

Some sort of govt. interference with factory offshoring...disallow American manufacturers to import their 'foreign' made goods to the US. High tariffs on foreign goods. Force the corporations that have offshored to pay the regular salaries/wages to the employees they have terminated for as long as they remain offshore.

Sorry Billy...son is a musician and is in the same boat with dreams of going into the field you are in.

[racetoinfinity]

92. Undo "free" trade

You're right. One part of it is undoing "free" globalized trade. It's a neoliberal idea in service of making the middle class serfs.

[Doremus]

73. We've been scrabbling to keep the shop going but it's coming to an end also.

You have our empathy and our sympathy.

:hug:

[David Zephyr]

75. So sorry to read your OP. This is happening in every corner of this country.

For what it's worth, I think it was admirable that you held on and tried to keep your employees on board as long as you could. That's stand up and character, something that money will never buy.

Don't give up your hope. Look back at what all you have accomplished and the love you have and take stock. Things will work out. They will.

[Mnemosyne]

77. .

:hug:

[guitar man]

80. I know how you feel

I had a pretty decent little studio biz going from '96 until '02. Tulsa's economy turns on the airline biz and we took a hit post 9-11 that I just couldn't survive. In '03 I shut it down and took a full time position at the company I'd been working part time for. It was hard to admit it but the numbers don't lie.

Luckily, my gear was paid for, well, most of it anyway and in mid 04 I partnered with a good friend in a project studio venture and we recorded and co-produced a kick ass album for his band that won a local award for best locally produced album. Haven't really made any money off of it but it sure pulled me up out of the doldrums.

Hang in there, it does get better :grouphug:

[cayanne]

82. Oh No Billy

So sorry to hear this. I would have bought you a star had I gotten there first. I'm still hoping to meet you in Cuba one of these days. Chin up and let me know if I can help. Bev

[grantcart]

84. good luck

been there a couple of times and it is agonizing.

Hope you can get some perspective so that you can find the best path forward.

[DarwinNY]

85. New Idea

Maybe you should start a new business and put up a website that solicits donations from your members.

[alp227]

86. Ouch. I wonder how Friedman feels in his grave right now.

Is he laughing at the little folks or is he banging his head angrily?

[CitizenLeft]

87. I'm so sorry.

Wishing you and your family the best, hoping that you get a break soon and that things turn around.

[Divine Discontent]

89. Sorry... good thoughts/prayers for you & yours. Our recovery funds should have much more focused

upon jobs, and frankly, much more should have been spent to boost the economy while they corrected the shit-pile of poison Dumya's regime left America....




just sayin'


oh, and anyone that would unrec your heartwrenching post has some serious trouble accepting facts, and that there's suffering all about our America.

[onestepforward]

90. Hugs for you

I can relate. I hope your situation gets better soon.
:hug:

[NuttyFluffers]

91. it seems a poor solace, but let me wish good things in your near future.

maybe the magic of 6 degrees of separation and wishful thinking can work more than passively, or something.

:hug:

[Thornleylv]

95. knr

[PCIntern]

96. I am sincerely SO SORRY...

I'm in a delicate position myself and know exactly how you feel/felt when you were trying your best to keep your employees working and your business viable...

If I went into what I've been thru the past 2 years, I'd start to cry again...

Best to you...

PC

[nradisic]

97. My business is having a hard time too...

But we are somehow surviving and managing to start growing sales again...not easy, but at least a positive sign.

I wish you luck and keep that chin up...

[xchrom]

98. recommend

[myrna minx]

101. .

:grouphug:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

102. My heartfelt wishes to you, Billy Burnett

Hang in, whatever it takes!!! Hang in hang in hang in!!

DO NOT let the bastards carborundum you!!!!! :mad:



:hug:

[Amerigo Vespucci]

105. A fellow DUer renewed my donor star, which was due to expire today

I thanked him via PM, so I won't replay the details here. But it proved to me once again that acts of kindness abound, even in the toughest times. His only request was that I "pay it forward," and I assured him that it's one of my core principles in good times and bad.

I want to give you encouragement but I don't want to give you "advice"...I don't think that's a fair people to do when other people are hurting.

So what I will say, and I will keep this brief, is that my friends have repeated one thought to me, over and over, in the last few months. They all say it but they don't "compare notes"...it's a series of random friends who are all saying the same thing to me on a regular basis:

"You're not alone."

That may not help you stay positive. It certainly won't bring about an immediate change in your circumstances.

But the way it helps me is that I tend to beat myself up over the fact that things aren't going better. I take it personally. Then I stop for a minute and take a look at what's going on in the world around me, and I've gotta tell ya...I tend to agree with the people who say we are in the third depression, and not in "the recovery phase of a recession." Recovery my ass.

"You're not alone."

It will help, or it won't, but it's true. Hang in there.

:patriot:

[Billy Burnett]

106. Thank you to all DUers herein for all of your best wishes.

:grouphug: