Member-only story
Refusing To Fall Off the Radar
Who says we’re too old for this?
“How can I be aging out of the workforce when I’ve got a boyfriend thirteen years younger than me?”
This was the question posed by Cassidy — a faithful reader, someone who’s shown herself to be a fierce activist, a loyal friend, a searingly intelligent person, and an exemplary human.
Yet, here she was, a pre-menopausal woman who saw her life crumbling around her. Getting a new job was proving an impossible task, which bewildered her even as it humiliated her. A lifelong restaurant server among other careers, she never had a tough time getting work.
Then she turned fifty.
Cassidy showed up to interview after interview with people in their twenties posing her questions. Often, it was other women. And Cassidy couldn’t believe how much she left people in the dust with her knowledge and especially with her experience. Any scenario that was thrown to her, she gave back wrapped with a bow. It seemed so positive — except for the intimidation she gave people in charge of hiring.
“It was like they couldn’t fathom what to do with a well-rounded person.”
After her business dissolved, Cassidy returned to serving and took a look around to see clearly the lack of people her age in the workplace…
