Pigs must be flying

This economic downturn (as the media tried to call this recession) has me feeling like I am in the twilight zone. I feel like Rod Serling should be following me around, chain smoking. Not that I am seeing ghost or anything like that. Things just don’t seem real right now.

I received a phone call from a bill collector about 15 minutes ago. It was for my old gym membership. It was one of the few things I was willing to pay a bit extra for. Not the gym itself, but the convenience of it. One of its locations was directly across the street from my job, with a pool and hot tub. I miss soaking during my lunch break, but I digress.

I think back to the calls I got my first time in dealing with a collector. That was during my college years. I was not thinking like a responsible adult should. Then again, I was not at the time. I filled the application out in order to get the free stuff they were giving away. When I first got the card, I tried to be mature about it. Then, I was approved for a limit raise.

Eventually, this behavior lead me to a bill collector. During the mid 90’s in Detroit, work was not easily accessible and I started to feel the crunch of living outside my means. But, I put my chest out and handled the situation. I remember quite a few different companies outside of Michigan telling me to get a job, though. They didn’t quite understand that Michigan’s economy never really stopped spiraling after the 70’s.

As I was talking this afternoon, I was waiting for his temper to show. I kept wonder with each word I spoke, will this be the start of the ugliness? The more I talked to the guy, and let him know that I’m lucky to be eating right now, the stranger it felt. Hell, the guy even let out a chuckle before we ended the call. I like to think that he felt lucky to have a job at that point, no matter how miserable it makes him.

We are seeing a new day in America again. Even though a majority of people won’t admit it, we saw the first American refugee. In January, we saw the swearing in of America’s first black president. Now, we are seeing a class of people that never had to draw unemployment in the line with us, figuratively speaking. A bill collector can actually relate to a collectee.