I probably should just go back to lurking mode at this point, but Sam
brought up some good points.
 
It just isn't as simple as hiring help to help you out.  Eric just spent
10 days in a hospital with no health insurance.  He is paying for
medications.  So is Mary.  They have rent and food and bills and ferret
vet bills, and no income, yet they are supposed to hire people to help out
with no means of paying them?  I understand this, because my dad and uncle
have a publishing business.  My dad is the president, my uncle the editor,
my mom is the administrative secretary, and my aunt the public relations.
One of them goes down with an illness, and they have major setbacks.  All
of them have outside jobs and are putting in their own finances to fund
the business until it can support itself.  My father suffers from bouts
of dibilitating migraines and he has been out of commission for up to
a year.  Luckily, that hasn't happened since they have started the
publishing business, but it has happened for a month.  Almost everything
comes to a halt.  My dad is in charge of all the billing and the taxes and
getting everything to the printer and helping to proofread and getting
mailings out, etc.
 
I have volunteered to help, but have been refused because it is a
business, and you just don't have volunteers to run a business if it is
not non-profit.  I mean, would you go volunteer at K-Mart because they
are going under?  Do you think they would let you?  My dad/uncle have no
money with which to pay me for my help.
 
At least Modern Ferret intends to honor 6 issues for every subscription
purchase.  They could just as easily file for bankruptcy and no one would
ever see a dime or a magazine.
 
And for the record, I have never met Mary or Eric in my life.  I just have
some human compassion.  (This is where I will probably get my butt nailed
to the wall with flames.  In no way am I making light of this tragedy!!!)
Everyone in America was so gung-ho to help support victims of 9/11 who
were directly involved in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  What
about those indirectly involved?  I know Mary and Eric were plagued with
a lot of health issues, but 9/11 also affected their business as their
printer called immediately after the attacks and refused to produce
anything more for them until their bills were paid "in case" something
happened to them and they were unable to pay their bills.  9/11 really
had a ripple effect on businesses - big and small.  I am not trying to
change people's opinions.  Just want people to think first about the
realities of life that don't always work in everyone's favor Yes, Mary
and Eric are running a business, and they need to respond to it and their
customers, but they are first people, and life hasn't been that great for
them.  Just becasue you run a business, doesn't mean you can't suffer
hardships.  It doesn't make you untouchable to the real world.  At least
they want to compensate everyone and not take the money, run, and file
bankruptcy.
 
I think I will be going back to lurking mode now...
 
Kelly White
Southampton, MA
[Posted in FML issue 3735]