Down & Out

I got a phone call from a high school friend who’s now living in Mordor Texas. He has a physical disability and is having real difficulty finding work. He told me that employers are reluctant to hire him, especially after they get on the phone with him and hear his speech impairment. I may be unduly influenced by Texan stereotypes, but I get the impression that attitudes about disability aren’t all that progressive down there. Not that it’s all gumdrops and rainbows here in Minnesota, but we do have one of the better employment rates of people with disabilities in the country. Of course, that’s still not saying much because our employment rate is only 30-40%. But talking with him reminded me of why I do what I do, while wishing that there was something I could do to help my friend.
One great thing about Netflix is that one gets to sample things that one would never find in a Blockbuster. I recently became a fan of the BBC series MI-5. It’s not flashy; I don’t recall any explosions or car chases. But the writing is taut and the plots are ingeniously intricate. And spies with British accents are inherently sexier than the American version.
This crappy weather has scrapped any plans I had to watch the Perseids. But if any of you manage to snap any good meteor pictures, send them to me and I’ll post them.