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Jean Richardson's avatar

I am a newly retired federal employee, thanks to DOGE. I have lived through 5 government shutdowns including the 2018 that lasted 35 days.

A few thoughts

- You’re handling this well. You need to get out of the house every day, whatever that looks like for you.

- Don’t watch the news and hold back on SM feeds. It will make you crazy.

- Contact your creditors as it goes on. I found they will understand your situation. We have a VA loan on our home and they were great about the possible delay of our mortgage payment.

- We had a savings account that we called the “government shut down savings.”

I hope all furloughed employees find the kindness and warmth that I experienced from friends and strangers. Sending lovingkindness to all my federal colleagues, except those in the Trump administration.

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Jason Herbert's avatar

Thank you, Jean. I really, really appreciate that. ❤️

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Neal Shultz's avatar

Hi Jason, Thank you for that insightful journal entry. I just finished a book by C.J. Box which partially set on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming (a place I've spent real time in). That comes on the heels of John Hickey's Big Chief and work by Louis Erdich. Do you have a top-10 list of authors and books about Tribal life?

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Jason Herbert's avatar

Thanks Neal! I was a little afraid I got too stream of conscience there. I don’t have a list of Tribal life books that I would share per se, though I do have a bunch of books on tribal history that I should probably put out there. Let me see if I can work that up in more detail.

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Kassia (CK) Sobey's avatar

Stay adaptable Jason. Sounds like you can still do the things you love and it’ll all come together in one way or another. As the saying goes,”Stay still and know.” Sorry about the furlough 🙋‍♀️

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Jason Herbert's avatar

Thank you CK! There’s a saying in Puerto Rico that I’ve always liked: “what kills you doesn’t make you fat!” :)

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Suzanne Crockett's avatar

As we used to say in the Sixty’s — Keep the Faith, Baby!

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Jason Herbert's avatar

Always!

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Lucia Humes's avatar

So sorry. Trump does not care what happens to everyday working people who keep our country working.

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Jason Herbert's avatar

Thank you, Lucia. I want to believe better days are ahead.

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