Dropping Out/Dropping In

Work on yourself first, before you work on something else. That’s kind of the basic idea. The Zen people say wash your bowl. The Sufis say clean your mirror. It’s all the same thing. Work on yourself first, then those other questions answer themselves.

A Hillbilly’s Work Ethic

Let me always turn my back on security. For it is the fearful uncertainty of my life that gives me strength.

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The lady at the local grocery

The lady at the local grocery says she works seven days a week. “I love it,” she says. “Nothing to do at home but watch TV.”

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Yesterday, I mailed off my application

“Yesterday, I mailed off my application for the federal service entrance exam. After four years of seeking an alternative to the system, the possibility of a nine thousand dollar a year job working for the Environmental Protection Agency is almost appealing.”

Street Vending

The Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen have once again put off taking a stand on the controversial street vending issue, at least until next month.

Sy’s Space

More jobs in the last year than I can remember, and so little sense, through it all, of any purposeful endeavor, of meaningful labor, of real work.

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For three days last year I planted small trees

For three days last year I planted small trees and shrubs along Interstate 85 for $3 an hour. Mindlessness, talentless and eternal boredom became the key words filtering through my consciousness, as all sense of self expression and sensitivity took a back seat to survival.

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To obtain unemployment insurance in Chapel Hill

To obtain unemployment insurance in Chapel Hill go to the Employment Security Commission office in the basement of the Franklin Street Post Office.

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Time as enemy

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And I shall set aside the want ads

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I remember carved phrases in the air