Hi Wants,

You write in a gentle and perceptive way. I always want to read more.

I was very interested in the idea of the 'blue collar' and of working really hard to get an education and academic tenure.

In the UK we talk about the 'working class intellectual' and I think that my wife and I come within that description. I have often had discussions with people who say that education is everything. My experience has been that in this country it is class (and the money that comes with it) that is everything.

The moneyed and land owning classes do send their children to university, but it's not defining for them, it's just part of the ritual. Sometimes I think that to be well read, and politically and socially aware, is just a burden for those of us without the silver spoon.

When I was teaching in adult education, and running employment projects, I saw it clearly. People tended to live and work within their own class, where they were most comfortable, and real 'upward mobility' was a rare thing, and hardly ever triggered by education. It was usually a lucky break in work, in business, or maybe marriage that changed lives.

This is only my own observation of course, I don't want to make any great sociological claims. I'm just thinking aloud, after reading your thoughts.

I try to accept my situation, including the depression, but I do sometimes envy those folks who have the easier road. We're only human after all.

I hope yours gets easier,

Good thoughts, Myzen.