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The T-Shirt

This morning when I saw that my daughter, Kayla, was wearing my old HomeTown Newspapers shirt, I couldnt help but tell her about the story behind the shirt. It was a part of stack of old shirts that I had given to her about a week ago after I reorganized my shirt drawer. They were just shirts that dont fit me, I hadnt worn, or were just taking up valuable space. I knew that they wouldnt fit Kayla properly enough to wear out in the public, but that they could be worn as pajamas. So, Kayla slept in my black shirt with the lightbulb on it and the phrase, My future is so bright, I have to wear shades. I received the shirt during a banquet being put on by HomeTown Newspapers just a few months before I found out that the subsidiary that I was working for, called HomeTown Online, was being dissolved, and everyone who worked there were going to lose their jobs. HomeTown Online was a local ISP which HomeTown Newspapers started up a couple of years later. I began working there as a web designer and phone support technician shortly after I 32bpwr3@gmail.com | Jon+ |

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graduated from CMU in 1997. It was a small operation especially compared to the organizations and companies that I would work for later on, but in many ways it was where I really was able to dig into the web development profession (back when it was still barely a profession at all). It was where my coding and graphic design skills were put to the test. I also got into the process of customer service when I began meeting with new clients who wanted to hire us to develop their websites for them. We heard the first mumblings about a shutdown when my manager pulled us all in his office and told us that any rumors about a merger were untrue. Although I didnt say anything, my thoughts were, what rumors? because I truly hadnt heard anything at all. The next clue came during the HomeTown Newspaper banquet when we werent included in any of the speeches that were given about the companys future. Our sister company, which was based in the Detroit area, was mentioned, but HomeTown Online was completely overlooked. I also remember that my manager was given a cold shoulder by members of the management team. So, it was during this same banquet that everyone was given these black T-Shirts with lightbulbs on them, and a slogan underneath which says My Future is so bright, I need to wear shades. A few months later, we were all pulled into the conference room and told that the company was being dissolved, its subscribers were going to be given to our sister ISP in Livonia, and that we were losing our jobs. None of us had been given any warning until that point. Not even our manager knew that this was going to happen. I told Kayla that the shirt seemed pretty ironic, since it seemed to suggest I had a long future at HomeTown Newspapers/HomeTown Online, but as it turns out I really didnt. Of course, Ive learned since 1999 when I was being let go from my first job out of college that there really isnt such a thing as job security, not even if you wear a shirt that proclaims it.

Repercussions
The announcement that HomeTown Online was being shut down impacted me in more ways than one. Sure, Id be looking for a new job after the next three months (they were keeping us on to help with the shutdown and transfer of the subscribers over to our sister ISP), but what was almost worse was that my wife had just resigned from her position with the Marlette Elementary School, where she had been teaching fifth grade during the last year. Our plan had been for get married and then move to somewhere in Livingston County where I would continue working for HomeTown Online, and Theresa would get a teaching job. So, now we were both going to be unemployed, and there was no way to know where we would end up living. My downsizing at HomeTown Newspapers reshaped the direction of our life together as a couple. Had we known I wouldnt be at HomeTown Online at the start of the next school year, Im sure that we would have decided to live in Marlette so that Theresa could keep a teaching job, and I would have gotten a job at one of the nearby cities. 32bpwr3@gmail.com | Jon+ |

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But, things worked out for the better even if we had to change our plans. I ended up working part-time at the Cromaine Library that following summer. It was a job, at least, and I had the time I needed to help Theresa plan our wedding. I eventually applied for and got a position with the Michigan State Medical Society, in East Lansing, so by the time we were getting married on July 10, 1999, I was employed once again. I started working for MSMS one week before our wedding. Theresa was never able to find a full time teaching job that year. By the time we were married and living in Haslett, Michigan, schools had already filled their teaching positions. Living in the Lansing area made it even harder for Theresa to find a teaching job because she was an unfamiliar face. She began subbing for the local districts so she could build up her credibility, and actually ended up landing a long term subbing position for an elementary school in Waverly. Kayla listened intently while I told her about my job with HomeTown Online, how I was given the shirt, and the way I found out that I was losing my position with the company. She was also interested in my story about planning for the wedding. I didnt tell her how deeply my job loss altered the course of all of our lives.

Hidden Truths
Thinking about how things have turned out, I cant help but wonder if the T-shirt might have been telling the truth after all. There have been some bumps and bruises along the way, but we still managed to recover each time. There were even a couple of times where I ended up a little better off because of a move or a job change. Looking back, the worse part of my experience with HomeTown Online was that management didnt seem to really give HomeTown Online the chance, nor were they very willing to tell us the truth. My guess is that when they looked at the bottom line, HomeTown Online wasnt performing well enough to keep around. And, they never really valued us as employees. And, that shirt was really cheesy.

32bpwr3@gmail.com | Jon+ |