Imagine how humbled he'd feel if his parents didn't own a basement

Posted July 4th, 2009 by Prometheus 6 By Peter Whoriskey Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, July 4, 2009 WARREN, Mich. -- Big, burly and a "car guy" since high school, Tom Persinger worked for years at General Motors. Now he's a nurse's aide. For about $12 an hour, he makes home visits to geriatric patients addled by dementia. He gets them fed or showered or moved from wheelchair to bed. While he likes "taking care of people instead of fenders," Persinger says, it has been a jarring transition. He struggled at first to find another auto job, then took an introductory nursing class and now is adjusting to his circumstances: Persinger, 39, lives in his mother's basement. "I've been humbled quite a bit," he said. As the auto industry in America, which once employed more than 1 million people, continues to shrink rapidly,... [read full story]                    

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