Middle-aged men

Many of our friends send out letters with their Christmas cards, detailing the key events of their families' past year. In the year when I turned fifty, there was a sad, disturbing theme.

Most of the guys who had worked for small, private companies, weren't doing so any more. They -or we - were unemployed, underemployed, ill or semi-retired. It's a waste: all of them are intelligent, capable men who could contribute to society. All of them wanted to work, but circumstance said otherwise. It seems that working for a large company, the state or for yourself is safe, but not small companies.

Who do we have?
Martin D: a top salesman in the USA, who disagreed with his employers over the size of his bonus following massive sales. He resigned in a huff, and couldn't find an alternative.
Dux P: A lawyer who was fired following a merger of two firms.
His brother Neil, made redundant from the top managerial position held by a Gaijin within a Japanese company in the UK.
Peter: An engineer with a theatrical lighting company.
Neil H: A management consultant fired during the major lay-offs of the early '00s.

It's a shed-load of missed opportunities for everyone: a waste of lives.