KOK Edit: Your favorite copyeditor since 1984(SM)
KOK Edit: your favorite copyeditor since 1984(SM) KOK Edit: your favorite copyeditor since 1984(SM) Katharine O'Moore Klopf
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Fear Response

It is always true that if you reach out, friends will respond.

I reached out here in my
previous post, and lots of you handed me generous helpings of care. Because we all know one another only through cyberspace, you will likely never literally see how much good you did me, but I am no longer feeling alone. I am warmed, cheered, and inspired by your words. Thank you so very much. If I could hug you all, I would. I think my husband, Ed, would hug you too, if he could. He's the kind of guy who makes instant friends of everyone he meets. You'd like him.

Ed now has a job interview scheduled for Friday with one of the big-box home-improvement stores, and people everywhere are offering him ideas. My in-laws, on a fixed income, have withdrawn a chunk of their retirement funds for us to use in paying our personal bills and business bills for about the next 30 days.

My
editing business, which has been going strong now for almost 14 years, seems poised to get stronger, if that's possible. My e-mail in-box is overflowing with offers of new projects. If I could clone myself so that I could take it all on, I just might do so.

What's next after 30 days? I don't know. I'm fervently hoping that Barack Obama becomes president, and that when he gets his financial plan ready for when he's in office, he'll up the measly 15% that he wants John and Jane American to be able to withdraw from their IRAs without a tax penalty, even if they're not ready for retirement, to use for financial emergencies. Fifteen percent of Ed's and my IRAs wouldn't be big enough to help us much. And I know we're not the only ones in the same situation. I'd also like to see him and Congress offer some real financial assistance to small businesses. We have two of them in our family, and with both of us at the peak of our experience and earning capabilities, going back to work for the man ain't agonna get us what we need to put our boys through college and help them get started on their own one day.

And now, back to work until the final presidential debate comes on TV.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to hear things are looking better for you and your family and that you have lots of project offers. We will get through these times with blessings that would not have happened without these detours. From a fellow EFA member.

libhom said...

I'm glad you are getting some good news. These are scary times, and you are helping to make things better by openly talking about what you are going through. It makes other people realize that they are not alone and feel more legitimized in demanding change.

Katharine O'Moore-Klopf said...

Thank you, Debra.

And thanks, LibHom, for validating my openness. On one e-mail list, where I thought I was among friends, I was in effect told to keep my problems to myself because talking about financial difficulties just brings everyone down. People who say things like that probably won't get too much sympathy when life hands them tough times.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. Things were going so well for you guys there for a while! I know you will get through this together,as you say, with family and friends' support and prayers. You have mine now too. I'm with you about Obama being elected and helping folks like you with small businesses, living your own American dream. You should send him an email to let him hear another story of hardship due to the economy and how he has to make it a priority when he gets in office. Give my regards to Ed.

Anonymous said...

If you want help for both of your small businesses, you'd better vote for McCain. Barack Obama will tax small businesses out of existence. His constituents will be mostly people who don't work for a living and they will depend on small businesses and other workers to maintain their health insurance and welfare checks. When all the small businesses are decimated because of confiscatory Obama tax policies, then what will happen to the workers and nonworkers?

Democrats never have supported small business. And Barack Obama will destroy small business.

Katharine O'Moore-Klopf said...

Anon, you and I will have to agree to disagree on this issue. I've seen nothing in my research that supports your interpretation of Obama's stance on taxes.

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