Lend me your jobless

Last week, an astonishing 589,000 Americans filed for unemployment. Undoubtedly, these are scary times. And yet, here in south Mississippi, I feel strangely buffered from the squalls of our plummeting market.
Retail sales are certainly slower in the downtown where I am stationed, with luxury items barely moving off the shelves at a snail's pace, if at all. Many service-oriented businesses, on the other hand, are not only holding steady, some are expanding while other bold entrepreneurs seek to hang a shingle for the first time this year.
There are at least half a dozen major industries operating in Jones County and each week I hear of new departments downsized, families shaken. I have no names, no connections.
I am looking for a face, one of these folks who has filed unemployment as a result of the national economic crisis, to share his or her story.
If you or someone you know has lost their job and feels the urge to blog about it, please encourage them to contact me.

In the meantime, we'll hear from a graduate who has yet to find her footing in this tough job market even six months after the cap toss.