Dave, you are not alone. There exists millions in similar situation. Furthermore, when discussion age discrimmination with an attorney, age discrimminations falls on deaf ears.

I have been unemployed since June 2009. I had a job at a call center for AT&T and after being there for a year I received a 9 cent an hour raise. Two weeks later I was fired! Unbelieveable, I thought maybe this would be my final job until Social Security kicked in. Boy was I wrong. Now I am looking at my last month of unemployment benefits (yes, the place where I worked did not even fight my claim!) I have applied everywhere online and here in town. The veteran's rep. cannot even give me a decent lead on a job in this town. My wife and I have been homeless before and believe me we do NOT want to go back to that terrible situation! No one can even imagine what that is like unless they have been themselves. I am seeing a counselor at the Veteran's Outpatient clinic for depression and stress. Drugs cannot help me get a job and they seem to be useless as I have been on them so long. We can spend tons of money to help Libya, Afghanistan and every other country but not to help people who have fallen through the cracks through no fault of their own. Guess all I have to look forward to is someday living in a putrid Veterans Home until I die. Is this really the land of opportunity? I think not.