April 17, 2025 • 13 mins
This week we meet Sam. The suits at corporate tell Sam to go home. Relax. Enjoy life. He no longer needs to report to the office.
Sam, baffled but delighted, heads home. Tells Shelley. She’s dubious. Wants the details.
“Chill, Shel,” Sam tells her. “It’s the new economy.”
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator, and author. We hear at the ten
Minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit. Mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet Sam. The suits at corporate tell
Sam to go on home and relax enjoy life. He
(00:47):
no longer needs to report to the office. Sam, baffled
but delighted, heads home. Tells Shelley she's dubious, wants the details.
Chill shell. Sam tells her it's the new economy. The
(01:08):
new economy. They told Sam he didn't need to report
to work any longer. What huh, No need to come
to the office, Sam, All done with that? Wait a second,
I'm going to work from home. Nope, you won't be
working at all. I'm fired. No, No, you're not fired,
(01:32):
just no need to report. Well, I don't get it.
It's not that complicated, Sam. You still have a job,
you still have a title, you still get a paycheck,
and you still have your benefits. You just don't have
to do anything. Wait a second, I don't have to
do anything. That's correct, Sam. You just stay home. Your
(01:55):
checks will arrive in the mail. Well, actually they will
be wired directly to your bank account. Damn man, this
is crazy, Sam. This is the new economy. Now. This
conversation took place just a few minutes ago. Sam walks
(02:16):
toward the exit. The double glass doors swing open. Sam
crosses the corporate campus to his three month old fire
engine red VWGTI. Sam's automotive midlife crisis. He didn't tell
Shelley about it until he pulled in the driveway with it.
(02:38):
It's a stick shift, she complained, after giving the red
hot hatch a narrowed eye. You know I can't drive
a stick shift. Well you could learn, huh. I don't
want to learn. Sam knew then and knows now. Those
five little words sum up his wife of sixteen years.
(02:58):
But no way was he going to point this out.
No way that would have led to World War three.
It's not practical, it has, Sam pointed out. Four doors
and five seat belts. Now. Sam sits in the GTI
for almost half an hour thinking about this whole job thing,
(03:20):
but he can't make sense of it, so after a while,
he fires up the turbocharged foebanger, shoves the shifter into first,
and heads for home, where Shelley, vacuuming the front hallway,
asks what are you doing here? It's not even nine thirty.
Are you sick? No? No, they told me to come home.
(03:42):
Who told you to come home? Well, there were these
guys at the office this morning. I never saw them before.
They kind of looked like undertakers. They told me I
didn't need to come to work anymore. What are you
talking about, Sam? I mean, come on, have you been
smoking grass again with Michael? Your eyes look all red
and glassy. No? No, no, no, they told me it
(04:05):
was the new economy. Sam and Shelley have a very
nice house in a safe, pleasant neighborhood. They don't take
the keys out of their cars or even lock the
doors at night. They both have college degrees. Sam has
a solid middle management position at an international food and
(04:27):
beverage company, good salary, great benefits. Shelley was a middle
school math teacher until she left the classroom fourteen years
ago to raise their three children. Now, she asks, so
so Sam in this new economy. Do you still get
a paycheck and health insurance? Do you? Well, then that's
(04:49):
what they said, they said I did, and for how long? Huh?
Sam feels like having a couple pieces of cheese. Lately.
He's been into this excellent Norwegian Swiss sliced super thin,
almost transparent. He's been doing lots of protein lately, less carbs.
(05:10):
He read an article online. He keeps cheese in his
small cubicle fridge at the office. He's always running out,
running low forgetting to restock. He smiles thinking about it
and says, one last thing to worry about, hon what
asks Shelley? And then the paycheck and the insurance. Sam,
(05:31):
let's concentrate on that for a second. For how long
do you have them? I won't have to bring cheese
or bottled water or a turkey sandwich to the office anymore,
Sam says. Sam hates the taste of the water at work,
too metallic. He quietly believes they put some chemo in
(05:54):
the water to keep the troops in line, keep them
subdued and content with their boring lot in life. It's
these kinds of thoughts Sam has when he gets stoned
with his brother Michael, forget the stupid cheese. Sam snaps Shelley,
how long will the paycheck's be coming? Huh? How long?
(06:15):
And what about the insurance? You know, I'm having my
meniscus repaired next month. And Tommy's overbite that is an
ongoing problem. And what about Marcy's hearing? Sometimes I don't
think she hears a thing we say, not a word.
Come on, Shell, that's just selective hearing. I mean, come on,
she's a teenager. Ough. I swear to god, you are
(06:37):
so annoying, Sam. The paycheck and insurance, the paycheck and insurance.
Can we focus on that for one second? Well, sure
we can, But you know I told you. They told
me it's all going to be good. All cool. I
guess I could call and find out, just to make sure.
Excellent idea, Sam, Shelley says sarcastically. You do that, you
make that call. It will give you something to do
(06:59):
this morning. Sam thinks about that, thinks about what he
will do this morning and this afternoon and tomorrow and
the day after that and the day after that. He
never did a whole lot at the office, but it
made no difference. He was, after all, at work. I'm
going to the grocery store, and the hairdresser announces, Shelley,
(07:20):
I'll be back in a few hours. Sam says goodbye.
He's glad Shelley won't be around to see if he's
doing anything. After the suv pulls out of the driveway,
Sam stretches out on the sofa and stares at his phone,
does some mindless scrolling, nods off, wakes up, nods off again,
(07:43):
mills around the house, makes a grilled Norwegian Swiss on
rye with some chips and a glass of water. He's
looking at his phone again when he hears the car
in the driveway. He quick moves to his desk and
pretends like he's doing something in important, just like he
often does it work or used to. Shelley calls, so
(08:06):
did you call Call call the office, Sam, to see
about the paycheck and the insurance. She sounds entirely annoyed.
Oh oh, yeah, Sam, lies I called. They said indefinitely.
Paychecks and insurance should last indefinitely. It's just the new economy, Shell,
(08:26):
nothing to worry about, something to celebrate. And that night,
after Shelley and the kids have gone up to bed,
Sam logs on to his Facebook account. Sam is primarily
a Facebook voyeur. He scrolls and scrolls through dog picks
(08:47):
and vacation picks and kid picks and all the political
dogg role, but only rarely does he ever punch the
like button or write a comment. Full blown posts of
his own create he could easily count on one hand.
Sam is primarily a spectator on Facebook, just as he
(09:08):
is in real life. But tonight, tonight, something stirs in Sam. Tonight,
Sam just can't help himself. Sam has something he needs
to tell the world. The desire is almost visceral. It
demands all caps, the Facebook equivalent of scream therapy. AI
(09:31):
took my job today, but hardy horror. I still get
a salary and benefits life on easy Street and then
not exactly sure why. Sam comments on his own post.
He writes, when I asked human Resources how long this
scenario of salary and benefits might last, they replied, quite likely,
(09:55):
mister Jones, until you reach retirement age. Ha, how about
that that's almost twenty years from now. Well, this is
complete malarkey. Sam never called anyone. He has no idea
how long he can expect to receive a paycheck and
get free health insurance. The comments start rolling in within
(10:17):
seconds of his post hitting the Facebook wall. Seriously, Sam,
that is so cool, you lucky sob No shit, Sam,
that's incredible, Good luck jackpot. What's AI? Before Sam can
answer this question, his old college fraternity brother, Marco Polo
(10:43):
real name mark post writes What's AI? Seriously? Are you
kidding me? Dude? Artificial intelligence? Dumbass? I mean, come on, dude,
are you living in the nineteenth century? My second grader
knows what AI is and what it's going to do
is make you irrelevant unless it already has. Sam smiles
(11:08):
at this comment made by old Marco, easily the funniest
and most facetious guy in the frat house. Sam's smile
disappears when up pops a troubling comment from Wendy, a
coworker from his early days at medi Tech. Sam, it
(11:29):
was just a ploy to get you quietly out of
the building. I am an HR now I know the drill.
They're setting you up, Sam, They're setting you up, old friend.
A few days will go by, and then a week
and a month, and eventually they'll claim you are a
wall fire you for not reporting to work, cut off
(11:50):
your salary, your insurance, your severance, even your retirement benefits.
It's the new corporate strategy, Sam All Art of the
New Economy Call me before it's too late. Thanks for
(12:13):
listening to this original audio presentation of the New Economy,
narrated by the author. If you enjoy today's story, please
take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe to
this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson dot
(12:33):
com for additional information about the author and to view
his extensive canon. The Ten Minute Storyteller is produced by
Andrew Pleglici and Josh Colotney and as part of the
Elvis Duran Podcast Network in partnership with Iheartproductions. Until next time,
(12:55):
this is Bill Simpson, your ten Minute Storyteller,
Welcome to the ten Minute Storyteller. That's me Bill Simpson,
your host, narrator, and author. We hear at the ten
Minute Storyteller endeavor to entertain you with tall tales or
rendered swiftly and with the utmost empathy. We pledge to
(00:25):
pack as much entertainment, emotion, and exploration into the human
condition as ten minutes will permit. Mini novels on steroids.
This week we meet Sam. The suits at corporate tell
Sam to go on home and relax enjoy life. He
(00:47):
no longer needs to report to the office. Sam, baffled
but delighted, heads home. Tells Shelley she's dubious, wants the details.
Chill shell. Sam tells her it's the new economy. The
(01:08):
new economy. They told Sam he didn't need to report
to work any longer. What huh, No need to come
to the office, Sam, All done with that? Wait a second,
I'm going to work from home. Nope, you won't be
working at all. I'm fired. No, No, you're not fired,
(01:32):
just no need to report. Well, I don't get it.
It's not that complicated, Sam. You still have a job,
you still have a title, you still get a paycheck,
and you still have your benefits. You just don't have
to do anything. Wait a second, I don't have to
do anything. That's correct, Sam. You just stay home. Your
(01:55):
checks will arrive in the mail. Well, actually they will
be wired directly to your bank account. Damn man, this
is crazy, Sam. This is the new economy. Now. This
conversation took place just a few minutes ago. Sam walks
(02:16):
toward the exit. The double glass doors swing open. Sam
crosses the corporate campus to his three month old fire
engine red VWGTI. Sam's automotive midlife crisis. He didn't tell
Shelley about it until he pulled in the driveway with it.
(02:38):
It's a stick shift, she complained, after giving the red
hot hatch a narrowed eye. You know I can't drive
a stick shift. Well you could learn, huh. I don't
want to learn. Sam knew then and knows now. Those
five little words sum up his wife of sixteen years.
(02:58):
But no way was he going to point this out.
No way that would have led to World War three.
It's not practical, it has, Sam pointed out. Four doors
and five seat belts. Now. Sam sits in the GTI
for almost half an hour thinking about this whole job thing,
(03:20):
but he can't make sense of it, so after a while,
he fires up the turbocharged foebanger, shoves the shifter into first,
and heads for home, where Shelley, vacuuming the front hallway,
asks what are you doing here? It's not even nine thirty.
Are you sick? No? No, they told me to come home.
(03:42):
Who told you to come home? Well, there were these
guys at the office this morning. I never saw them before.
They kind of looked like undertakers. They told me I
didn't need to come to work anymore. What are you
talking about, Sam? I mean, come on, have you been
smoking grass again with Michael? Your eyes look all red
and glassy. No? No, no, no, they told me it
(04:05):
was the new economy. Sam and Shelley have a very
nice house in a safe, pleasant neighborhood. They don't take
the keys out of their cars or even lock the
doors at night. They both have college degrees. Sam has
a solid middle management position at an international food and
(04:27):
beverage company, good salary, great benefits. Shelley was a middle
school math teacher until she left the classroom fourteen years
ago to raise their three children. Now, she asks, so
so Sam in this new economy. Do you still get
a paycheck and health insurance? Do you? Well, then that's
(04:49):
what they said, they said I did, and for how long? Huh?
Sam feels like having a couple pieces of cheese. Lately.
He's been into this excellent Norwegian Swiss sliced super thin,
almost transparent. He's been doing lots of protein lately, less carbs.
(05:10):
He read an article online. He keeps cheese in his
small cubicle fridge at the office. He's always running out,
running low forgetting to restock. He smiles thinking about it
and says, one last thing to worry about, hon what
asks Shelley? And then the paycheck and the insurance. Sam,
(05:31):
let's concentrate on that for a second. For how long
do you have them? I won't have to bring cheese
or bottled water or a turkey sandwich to the office anymore,
Sam says. Sam hates the taste of the water at work,
too metallic. He quietly believes they put some chemo in
(05:54):
the water to keep the troops in line, keep them
subdued and content with their boring lot in life. It's
these kinds of thoughts Sam has when he gets stoned
with his brother Michael, forget the stupid cheese. Sam snaps Shelley,
how long will the paycheck's be coming? Huh? How long?
(06:15):
And what about the insurance? You know, I'm having my
meniscus repaired next month. And Tommy's overbite that is an
ongoing problem. And what about Marcy's hearing? Sometimes I don't
think she hears a thing we say, not a word.
Come on, Shell, that's just selective hearing. I mean, come on,
she's a teenager. Ough. I swear to god, you are
(06:37):
so annoying, Sam. The paycheck and insurance, the paycheck and insurance.
Can we focus on that for one second? Well, sure
we can, But you know I told you. They told
me it's all going to be good. All cool. I
guess I could call and find out, just to make sure.
Excellent idea, Sam, Shelley says sarcastically. You do that, you
make that call. It will give you something to do
(06:59):
this morning. Sam thinks about that, thinks about what he
will do this morning and this afternoon and tomorrow and
the day after that and the day after that. He
never did a whole lot at the office, but it
made no difference. He was, after all, at work. I'm
going to the grocery store, and the hairdresser announces, Shelley,
(07:20):
I'll be back in a few hours. Sam says goodbye.
He's glad Shelley won't be around to see if he's
doing anything. After the suv pulls out of the driveway,
Sam stretches out on the sofa and stares at his phone,
does some mindless scrolling, nods off, wakes up, nods off again,
(07:43):
mills around the house, makes a grilled Norwegian Swiss on
rye with some chips and a glass of water. He's
looking at his phone again when he hears the car
in the driveway. He quick moves to his desk and
pretends like he's doing something in important, just like he
often does it work or used to. Shelley calls, so
(08:06):
did you call Call call the office, Sam, to see
about the paycheck and the insurance. She sounds entirely annoyed.
Oh oh, yeah, Sam, lies I called. They said indefinitely.
Paychecks and insurance should last indefinitely. It's just the new economy, Shell,
(08:26):
nothing to worry about, something to celebrate. And that night,
after Shelley and the kids have gone up to bed,
Sam logs on to his Facebook account. Sam is primarily
a Facebook voyeur. He scrolls and scrolls through dog picks
(08:47):
and vacation picks and kid picks and all the political
dogg role, but only rarely does he ever punch the
like button or write a comment. Full blown posts of
his own create he could easily count on one hand.
Sam is primarily a spectator on Facebook, just as he
(09:08):
is in real life. But tonight, tonight, something stirs in Sam. Tonight,
Sam just can't help himself. Sam has something he needs
to tell the world. The desire is almost visceral. It
demands all caps, the Facebook equivalent of scream therapy. AI
(09:31):
took my job today, but hardy horror. I still get
a salary and benefits life on easy Street and then
not exactly sure why. Sam comments on his own post.
He writes, when I asked human Resources how long this
scenario of salary and benefits might last, they replied, quite likely,
(09:55):
mister Jones, until you reach retirement age. Ha, how about
that that's almost twenty years from now. Well, this is
complete malarkey. Sam never called anyone. He has no idea
how long he can expect to receive a paycheck and
get free health insurance. The comments start rolling in within
(10:17):
seconds of his post hitting the Facebook wall. Seriously, Sam,
that is so cool, you lucky sob No shit, Sam,
that's incredible, Good luck jackpot. What's AI? Before Sam can
answer this question, his old college fraternity brother, Marco Polo
(10:43):
real name mark post writes What's AI? Seriously? Are you
kidding me? Dude? Artificial intelligence? Dumbass? I mean, come on, dude,
are you living in the nineteenth century? My second grader
knows what AI is and what it's going to do
is make you irrelevant unless it already has. Sam smiles
(11:08):
at this comment made by old Marco, easily the funniest
and most facetious guy in the frat house. Sam's smile
disappears when up pops a troubling comment from Wendy, a
coworker from his early days at medi Tech. Sam, it
(11:29):
was just a ploy to get you quietly out of
the building. I am an HR now I know the drill.
They're setting you up, Sam, They're setting you up, old friend.
A few days will go by, and then a week
and a month, and eventually they'll claim you are a
wall fire you for not reporting to work, cut off
(11:50):
your salary, your insurance, your severance, even your retirement benefits.
It's the new corporate strategy, Sam All Art of the
New Economy Call me before it's too late. Thanks for
(12:13):
listening to this original audio presentation of the New Economy,
narrated by the author. If you enjoy today's story, please
take a few seconds to rate, review, and subscribe to
this podcast, and then go to Thomas William Simpson dot
(12:33):
com for additional information about the author and to view
his extensive canon. The Ten Minute Storyteller is produced by
Andrew Pleglici and Josh Colotney and as part of the
Elvis Duran Podcast Network in partnership with Iheartproductions. Until next time,
(12:55):
this is Bill Simpson, your ten Minute Storyteller,
Host
Bill Simpson
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