How I Spent My Summer Vacation

COVID, The Economy, and Workaholism

Two Truths and a Lie

In my last post in April, I explained that travel and work demands had put a crimp in my writing, but I would get back to writing regularly. More than four months later, here we are.

It’s true; travel has been a constant over the past few months. I’ve traveled extensively in the last month, leaving my bags packed and carrying them to the next city.

COVID and the economy have made work demands more demanding than ever. More on that later, but needless to say, I’ve left writing to a tomorrow that never seemed to come.

The lie was that we would be back to regularly scheduled dribble soon. But alas, there is good news, let the dribbling begin anew.

COVID and the Economy

One of the problems with watching people debate COVID and the economy on cable news or in Congress is that the people talking about it don’t seem to know what’s happening.

Don’t believe me? Try hiring someone in this current climate. “Quiet quitting” is one of those media obsessions, but the lack of available candidates is very real. I spent four months filling a position rather than paying someone with no experience outside their market value. I had a candidate who claimed extensive experience with Microsoft Office but had never heard of Excel, Access, or mail merge. For a starting salary well above the local average for the position, I could have had the pleasure of teaching her. I spent nine weeks interviewing candidates just like that before lightning struck.

I posted another position with a salary range to avoid wasting time. We went through several candidates who suddenly commanded more money by the end of the process than we’d advertised. I finally gave up after three months and reorganized my staff to eliminate a management position.

COVID is even worse. In the non-profit world, there aren’t many redundancies. As a result, losing a member of staff can disrupt things. I firmly believe in the constitution and individual rights, which directly conflicts with my need to keep the organization running. I don’t care what one’s position is on masks, vaccinations, or restrictions, but none of it is a substitute for common sense. I once worked for a guy who said, “Don’t ever get so smart that you’re stupid.” If that doesn’t make sense, it might be too late.

With that…

We’re back. First up is a callback article I wrote on the 20th anniversary of September 11.

And that’s how I spent my summer vacation.