Sesame Street has been brought to you by . . .

. . . not the letters Q or W. Read on:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/25/turk.letters.reut/index.html

Whoa! Easy there, Oppresive Spice. They're just letters. Usually people have a problem when those individual letters are combined to form "words". And sometimes these words can be combined to form "books". Then the next thing you know, Jerry Falwell is protesting Harry Potter.

I blame the phone company. They took q and z off the dialpads and now Turkey has to follow the example of SBC's evil regime.

What's next to be outlawed. The symbol for pi? How about all of the Latin alphabet? It's a dead language anyway? Who are the only people who use it? Doctors. And no one can afford to talk to them anyway.

Hey, I know! Let's outlaw Jerry Falwell.

Joplin, Missouri

Where the doors are shut tight, and the minds are shut even tighter . . .

My first blog. This is being written as I try to rise above the fog of yet another job rejection.

"Dear Mr. Peck,

Thank you for applying to ____. At this time (we have chosen another applicant/the position has been filled/please go fuck yourself) but we appreciate your (interest/enthusiasm/desperation) and will keep your resume and application (on file for one year/in mind/as toilet paper). If any other positions are open in the future we hope you will (take the time to re-apply/keep us in mind/not walk into our HR office with a sawed-off shotgun).

As always (thank you for considering us/we wish you luck in your pursuits/please go fuck yourself).

Sincerely,
Please go fuck yourself

OK, I might be exaggerating. Only one company said please go fuck yourself, and in their defense someone had just walked into their HR office with a sawed-off shotgun. But you've all had these infuriating form letters that basically say you're not important enough/you don't matter/hey, how'd you get our address.

Hard not to take it personally. I'm living in Joplin, MO now so I can be closer to my family. But this town does not have open arms towards outsiders despite what the brochures might say. And I'm feeling like a serious outsider right now. I used to live in Chicago. Life was pretty good there. I miss Chi-town. I miss LeRoy. (a couple of you know what I mean!) Maybe it's time to rethink some things.

To paraphrase Tennessee Williams: Joplin is a great city to be from.

Later