Bad news travels fast
He's a what? He's a what?
He's a newspaper man
and he gets his best ideas
from a newspaper stand.
My legs spring to the rhythmic claps of TV on the Radio emanating from my iPod, as I stare at the snowy remnants of an overcast day through the windows of the local gym. And while the cold weather is locked out, the chill of recession seeps into my view through a muted but captioned Katie Couric on the communal TV. TVOTR's Tunde and Andrew draw my mind away from government bailouts and rises in the unemployment rate as I head for my locker.
"I thought that was you," calls a familiar voice from the cardio section. My editor from my first internship stands before me, minus the tie and glasses, smiling brightly. "How have you been?"
"Oh, I'm fine," I pant, catching my breath and toweling my face dry. "I'm currently unemployed, but I just graduated in May."
He smiles again. "Me, too. After 13 years in the business." He stares at the ground. "It's tough for everyone, but hang in there," he advises. "Something will come along."
As I watch my favorite reference walk out of my life, I can't help but wonder how my resume would fare compared to his. When I didn't think things could get any worse (my inexperience, this rapidly changing industry), my former editor is canned. Gosh, even Couric wasn't this bad. I turn back to the elliptical machine and drown my sorrows in more Afro-punk.
Should something shake you
and you drop the news
Lord, just keep your dancing shoes
off mine.