By way of introduction

Here's a summary to get you started.

While the names are fictitious, the situation is not. I'm Bob, a white-collar financial professional, aged about... oh, let's say 50 for round numbers. Worked in the same industry (insurance) for 30 years. Married the same length of time to wife Debra. Have 2 kids, Jennifer (22) & Jonathon (18), and a dog, Inferno (aptly named.) Many outside interests, some far too intimate to share here, so we'll stick to the job situation primarily. Suffice it to say that the loss of my job has effects that ripple out to others beyond the circle of my immediate family.

Home right now is a midwestern city, not unlike St. Louis, Des Moines or Milwaukee - that type. Moving around is a common thing for us, seems like every 3-5 years or so, we're off again. And I've worked here now about that long. We have a comfortable home in a nice suburb, college debts (Jenny - just finished), and more to come (Jonny - just starting). So, life's been good. Then came the news that our office is closing and my job is being eliminated. This came about 2 weeks ago, and the shock is still palpable.

From a business perspective, it was a good decision, and I would've done the same thing had it been my call, I suppose. But, the result is still devastating to many people. Over the last 2 weeks I've been exploring options of staying local, both with the company (call them Bell Insurance), and outside the company. No options available that would preserve my salary, and with mortgage payments and college expenses, that's pretty important. Finally, no options with Bell Ins. anywhere in the country that would allow me to stay whole financially. So, it looks like I'll be leaving the organization after 16 years, 5 years short of early retirement, plus moving to some other community - which, at this point, is who knows where?

More to come...