"Let's see, it says here that you've been at Grimes since '93. Why's that?"

Al's question catches Jack by surprise. He thought his long term association with Grimes was a good thing. "It was a good company to work for," he says. "There was room for advancement and a good salary scale and benefits. I enjoyed working there." He feels he'd come up with a good answer.

"So why did you leave?"

I was fucking laid off because of my age he thinks to himself. "Like so many companies, they went through severe downsizing. I was caught in the last one," he says.

"Hmmm." Al is flipping through pages and frowning.