A Twist on the Heartless Bastards Who Lay Us Off

It's easy to vilify the people who hand us our pink slips. Even folks who haven't received a pink slip can watch George Clooney in Up in the Air and get a cinematic taste of the experience.

But sometimes the person on the other side of the table is genuinely compassionate. And sometimes that compassionate person is so racked with guilt and sorrow that dire circumstances become worse.

Folk artist Stephen Huneck, famous for his Dog Chapel (where a sign reads “Welcome: All Creeds, All Breeds. No Dogmas Allowed.”) in Vermont, was one such employer. Devastated that his failing art business forced him to lay off most of his employees, he took his own life last month.

And then, as is so often the case in the art world, his death "revalued" his art and with the renewed interest and sale of his works, Huneck's wife was able to hire back most of the employees who had been let go.

Kind of puts our joblessness in perspective, doesn't it?