Thinking about Joan Rivers

A couple of nights ago, my significant other and I drove to Amherst to see the documentary about Joan Rivers at the Amherst Cinema. I think Joan Rivers is funny. I've only ever seen her on network television (Johnny Carson show, etc.) so I haven't seen some of her raunchier routines. Regardless, her language doesn't bother me. I've heard as bad (worse) from young kids on city streets. An incentive for going to a movie on Wednesday was that the theater is air conditioned and my house is not.

What resonated most with me however, is that Joan is 75 years old. Over the years she has been a much-sought-after, "hot" commodity; now she's having trouble finding work, even though she's willing to do almost anything. She feels she can still make a contribution to entertainment, but the venues where she played to sold-out audiences don't want to hire an old lady.

I'm not as old as Joan Rivers, but I'm a lot older than the average library school graduate. The thought has crossed my mind that libraries might not want to hire someone my age. I have a lot of experience. I've worked as a cataloger for many years. I teach cataloging. Obviously, I command a higher salary than many librarians looking for work.

Also, if a library hires me, how much longer will I be working? Will they have to go through another search in 2-3 years? I'm sure I'll be an engaged and viable cataloger at 75, but will I have Joan's drive?

When Joan's stand-up comedy career began to falter, she reinvented herself. She wrote books, wrote and acted in plays, now she's involved in this documentary. She even performed on Celebrity Apprentice with Donald Trump. She's keeping her name out there.

I've already begun making the transition to metadata from cataloging; it's a natural progression. I may even have a more drastic metamorphosis (see the post I Have Options). In that way I am also like Joan. I'm certainly not ready to quit yet - even at my age.

An update on my attempts to file an unemployment claim:
Obviously Wednesday's strategy didn't work (waiting a few hours between calls), so today I decided to call every 20 minutes or so. Between 8:36 and 10:30 I made 6 calls - all ending with the message that they have an "unusually high number of calls" and to try later. I even tried what I thought was a fool-proof method and called while having my breakfast. I thought for sure a live person would answer while I had a mouth full of English muffin. Nope!