Joseph Skillings has had a hard year, and now it's getting worse. Back in January, he saw a man harassing someone at a bus stop; when he tried to call 911, the guy hit him in the head and Skillings fell to the ground, suffering serious brain damage. It's taken him a year of therapy and rehabilitation to be able to resume work even part-time as an elementary school teacher in Ballard. Now, a year later, the school district has been forced to lay off the poor guy for financial reasons. Owned! On the other hand, Skillings may be brain-damaged and out of a job, but he still has friends nice enough to give him frequent flyer miles so he can go to Hawaii for a month. Not too shabby. more ›