I ran into an old friend of mine today...

...on my lunch hour. We did the "Stop and Chat," as Larry David calls it, and he told me he'd been retired for three years and was "still getting used to it." I remember when he "retired," and it was more like getting forced out in a high-level management shake-up. (Don't feel too bad for the guy; he's about 63 and still has his First Communion money.) But I could tell from the look on his face that he would rather have been anywhere else at that moment than talking to me at the grocery store. (I didn't take it personally.)

What did cross my mind was that this guy, whom I remember as a highly intelligent, creative and energetic individual, should be working. He seemed completely lost at Dominick's on a gloomy Wednesday afternoon. What's more, I can think of at least two other guys I know -- off the top of my head -- who are out of work and should be working. And I'd bet they're all desperate to get back to work. (I know I was on the occasions that I was between jobs -- it's one of the worst feelings in the world.)

My next thought was, what the heck is wrong with this country when smart, capable people who want to work can't find a job? (I don't pretend to have the answer.)

And finally, I thought about something Paul Ryan said in his rebuttal to the State of the Union speech last night. (You knew I was going to pick on poor Mr. Ryan sooner or later.) My emphasis:

...This is a future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock, which lulls able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency.

Now, as I said, I couldn't wait to get back to work when I was unemployed. And I've never met anyone who felt differently. Being out of work is a horrible experience. So enough with the hammock references, Mr. Ryan (and that silly "Roadmap" of yours). How about getting serious about America's serious un- and under-employment problem?