Thursday, April 2, 2009

Switchkeys and Radios

We got the dreaded call today. The railroad wants their switchkeys and radio back. That's pretty depressing for me. Actually, I was at work my state job, that, due to funding issues, isn't currently paying me). My daughter answered the phone, thinking it was her aunt. To her shock it was the railroad calling. She had heard us talk about the other two guys we know of who got THE CALL, so she knew what it was about. My husband gave me the news when I got home. My heart sank. For us, this was our only real opportunity for advancement that we've ever had. For my husband, this was a big opportunity. It's not the railroad's fault, so we're not mad at them. It's just the way things are.

The good news is that he is still on the furlough board. He's not been let go-- it's just that we know that they aren't planning on having him back soon. My husband isn't as discouraged as I am. He has lots of marketable skills that make him pretty employable. I'm just sad for him, because I worry that he won't get to go back to this job, which I think is the coolest job he's ever had.

He's much more detached.

As I write this, he's outside scraping our siding. He's been keeping busy by taking care of much needed repairs to our old home. Even if he's furloughed for a year, he'll be busy the whole time, and our house will look really great after a year.

If the railroad hasn't called him back after a year, he might go look for something else. Right now he's working hard on our house.

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