Stylish Privation

Here’s a book that my husband picked up a long time ago. Ernest Callenbach wrote the book, and it published in 1972. I think Callenbach was a hippy. This is the book’s introduction:

Poor Is “In”

“Millions of Americans have discovered how to be free. And to be that, they are willing to be poor: to drop out of the corporations and universities and official culture and instead try building up a life-style that will suit them. This can mean scrounging, scavenging, welfare, do-it-yourself, subsistence farming, communes, odd jobs, and part-time jobs. It’s not an easy life. But it can be a real and personal satisfying life—fit for man to live. This book has been written to try and bring together information that can be useful in living this new life.”



I’m glad that I have Callenbach's book. It is going to come in handy after my yearly employee evaluation. This is going to be interesting. Mr. Gringe isn’t happy that I keep pointing out issues regarding patient care that the hospital chooses to overlook. I refuse to wear rose-colored glasses to work. On a brighter note, Mr. Gringe has also announced that the nurses working a Hospital X are getting a “substantial” pay raise this year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he is playing down the fact that our big, fat, raise won’t cover the increase in premiums that we pay for our health insurance, nor will it cover the increase in copays associated with our new policy. My coworkers will need a pair of rose-colored glasses when they start reading the fine print on their insurance policy.




If poor is in, then I'm living the highlife. Like the majority of Americans, my family and I are struggling to make ends meet.