A Few Thoughts Woven In With Visual Poetry

MacKeachan_from_Keach Visual Poetry

MacKeachanfromKeach

MacKeachanfromKeach
Location
Concord, New Hampshire,
Birthday
December 01
Title
Do I need one ?
Company
Bead One, Thread Too
Bio
I grew up with one parent, my mom. When I was about 11 years old my mom worked at the Orson Wells Film School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and I spent many hours either at the Film School part or at the theater part. I was there so often that I had a running tab at the candy counter. I must have seen "Forbidden Planet" over 27 times ! The years I was the most involved with film and acting was around 1972/73, when i played Vera Sapleton in a short story called, "The Open Window". Sometime around 1978 I had an opportunity to take an acting class at Emerson College in Boston. My home life was toxic, however, and I was not encouraged to pursue an acting career. I spent some time away from the toxicity that was "Hartless" Place in Woburn and learned black and white photography from my uncle, Jack Radcliffe, who taught at a College in Maryland. Although Prof. Radcliffe wrote a recommendation for me to continue my photographic study upon return to the Woburn School System I was told that I could not take photography because I was not a Senior (in High School). Since High School had become a waste of my time I quit school and after working full time for 3 months had enough money to purchase enough materials to build my own (blk & wht.) dark room in the bathroom annex. My photography had to share space with the laundry, but it worked okay for awhile ... until the next family crisis came along. To enter the military I earned my G.E.D. I endured Basic Training, but became homeless after graduation on Fort Dix in 1983. In 1988 I lost my mom and half sister in a house fire and started to appreciate and research my maternal genealogy (Keach and Rawson). In 1995 I graduated from Rivier College, Nashua, NH with a BFA in Graphic Design, but have not become employed in that field. I have traveled to England and Scotland and continue to maintain a valid US Passport. I have one son, who is unemployed. I have one half brother, who is deaf. I have one cat, who stays inside. I live in one house. I drive a Nissan. I create with Adobe Photoshop (mac version). I bead with Delica seed beads and semi precious stone beads. I own and manage one small business. I live with asthma.

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The Future
Where I have been and where I am
FEBRUARY 2, 2010 10:02AM

Single Mothers Considering College Be Wary , Be VERY Wary !

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Those new to my situation please read my other posts. I have a Student Loan in repayment status with Direct Loans. I am on an Income Contingent Plan , but because I do not earn enough money to pay even the interest my monthly payment is $0. However, what I cannot afford to pay each month still accrues interest and once a year becomes added to my whole student loan. This new student loan amount, in turn, creates a higher interest amount for the next year. Each year - for the past 7 years - I have seen my negative amortized student loan grow larger and because I have been on Social security Disability and make meager income from part time employment as a cashier --- HAVING NOT ONCE EVER WORKED IN MY FIELD OF GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR WHICH I WENT TO COLLEGE FOR AND EARNED MY BFA IN --- I continue to not be able to afford to pay even the interest on my student loan.

 

No new news on the Student Loan front and I continue to get irritated every time I see or hear an advertisement from Obama encouraging young mothers to go to college ! I would LOVE to send Obama a letter -- snail mailed direct to the White House. The only reason I have not done this (yet) is because I have little faith that he would actually READ it. A whole year later and my post has generated only a few serious responses. I suppose that COULD BE enough to form the center of what COULD BECOME a formidable "grass roots" ORGANIZATION.

 

 

Anyway, I have big dreams and not many supporters. If I could get enough supporters to transform my dream into a realizable goal I would risk almost as much to march on the white House lawn .... but a group of under 10 people would not get much notice I think. If you have an idea how you and I could actually reach Obama ... he is suppose to be in New Hampshire soon, but I am sure that security will be tight and the public will be screened ahead of time for their questions. Any question that is not specific to his agenda will not be heard, I bet. Too bad because I think that President Obama does not have all the facts about the Student Loan situation. At least, I hope he is missing some critical information that people like you and I can provide. Otherwise, this president would not be much different in the long run than any other "We the People" have had.

 

"What we have here is a failure to communicate". I have left messages with e-mail "blogs" and my congressman and all I get back is a generic, "thank you for your concerns" , we are working on the health care, or whatever OTHER topic the government is "hot" over, but not once have I had a political response come back to me that was SPECIFIC about MY CONCERN WHICH IS THE INEFFECTUAL METHOD DIRECT LOANS DEALS WITH ALREADY EXISTING STUDENT LOANS .. IN NEGATIVE AMORTIZATION FOR MANY YEARS, ACCRUING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN INTEREST .... It is bad business and it is or ought to be Federally regulated and it is not getting any attention from the White House.

 
 
Those new to my situation please read my other posts. I have a Student Loan in repayment status with Direct Loans. I am on an Income Contingent Plan ,but because I do not earn enough money to pay even the interest my monthly payment is $0. However, what I cannot afford to pay each month still accrues interest and once a year becomes added to my whole student loan. This new student loan amount, in turn, creates a higher interest amount for the next year. Each year - for the past 7 years - I have seen my negative amortized student loan grow larger and because I have been on Social security Disability and make meager income from part time employment as a cashier --- HAVING NOT ONCE EVER WORKED IN MY FIELD OF GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR WHICH I WENT TO COLLEGE FOR AND EARNED MY BFA IN --- I continue to not be able to afford to pay even the interest on my student loan.

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politics, business, student loans, college, consumer protection

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I'm sorry for your plight, but you should have researched the field to determine if there was a job market before taking out loans to get into it.
perdidochas
February 02, 2010 04:37 PM
Perdidochas, That is an unenlightened comment coming from someone not identifying WHO they are really ! Is Perdidochas your first name or your last name ?

I DID research the field. EVERYTHING THAT IS PRINTED is in the Graphic Design field. Besides, job markets change. What field is seen as wide open, having lots of room for employment one year can close up so tight one can not put their small toe through , much less their whole "foot". It takes TIME to earn a college degree and single mothers do not have much time. It took me seven (7) years to complete my Bachelor's of Fine Arts program. What would have taken a non encumbered woman -- or man -- 4 years to complete took me 3 years longer because I was a single mother. When you are a single mother, you already have one full time job.

The world does not need more Social Workers, who can do their job with a minimum amount of training. I have not researched this, but I would be willing to bet that MOST jobs that require only a certificate or an Associate Degree are already full up or have been transfered overseas -- where the levels of quality, intelligence and overall compency are much different than they are here in the United States.
MacKeachanfromKeach
February 03, 2010 11:49 AM