Sept. 11, 2001, I was working for an electronics firm in Camarillo. Ten days later, I was laid off, along with several others. I realized that age was an issue in getting another job, so I moved from Oxnard to Los Angeles.

I figured the aerospace industries, through temporary agencies, would keep me busy.

However, the aerospace industry, for the most part, had vacated the region. Temporary agencies were looking primarily for clerical help. The few offers I received required that I leave the area.

The industry that is left here does not require my level of experience, so what I've been hearing most of the time is that I am "overqualified."

I took a course in computer graphics. That, I figured, would move me into a few temporary positions. Right off the bat, I was told I was "overqualified."

In a field in which I have never worked I was "overqualified"?

I realized at that point that "overqualified" was a euphemism for "too old." It is one of many ways to reject on the basis of age, without saying so.

I'm sure that the litigious society in which we live has a lot to do with employers being leery of age. But I'm not sure if it has anything to do with employers' choice of wording. So, usually, during the interview, I point out that I run five miles a day and play tennis on weekends.

But, still, when you're in your 70s, you're considered "old."

Finally, I found a business that didn't hit me with the usual "overqualified" euphemism — the U.S. Postal Service.

What it wanted were casual carriers. I realized the Postal Service has various positions nowadays in electronics, so I hoped to be able to get hired and transfer.

So, I went through a week of orientation. Each day was different, with different starting times. They covered postal rules, responsibilities of various departments and we got to look at the various machines that are in use.

A most amusing sign of the times was the fact I was the only one there who had spent time in the military. Since the draft was rescinded so many years ago, a whole generation has passed since mandatory enlistment.

They split us up for what I thought were driving classes. I arrived on my appointed day at 6 a.m. They took me to a 2-ton van. I told them it was larger than anything I had ever driven and that I had never had to completely depend on mirrors to drive in reverse.

So, when they put me behind the wheel, I mistakenly thought it was to acquaint me with the vehicle.

Wrong.

They started grading me immediately. Worse yet, I was being docked for things I was unaware of.

For example, I backed up until I could feel the parking stops. According to them, I had "struck an object."

Before it was over, I knew I wasn't going to pass. Someone later asked me if I thought I was deliberately set up to fail.

And I had to ask myself, "Did I just experience another form of euphemism?"

— Boyce Clark, formerly of Oxnard, lives in Los Angeles.