ON THE BREADLINE: THOMAS ELLIOTT

Elliott was the fleet and safety manager for a major transportation company in San Diego when he was laid off without warning last July. Two months later, as he was about to begin a (lower-paying) job at another company, he was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

How do you cope with getting up every morning? What motivates you?

When you are unemployed, every day is Friday.

Likewise, how do you cope with getting to sleep at night, or getting any sleep, period?

Use a Tempur-Pedic® mattress (and pillow).

Give an example of the sort of changes or cutbacks you’ve had to make in the way you live your life.

Not much, living off the gravy train for now. First Unemployment, then State Disability (see below). When those run out, I will worry.

Share with us some of your recession gallows humor.

Everyone out there has it easy. Picture losing your job, sending out resumes, getting less than three interviews, taking an entry-level job at another transportation company (no worries, I would have owned the company in a few years), and then finding out you have cancer (and were two weeks away from dying) three days before you were supposed to start the new job. Six months of chemo later, still unemployed, and still wondering when the other shoe will drop.

What, if anything, gives you hope that the future holds better things?

Obama being president. The sun always rises.