State of the Union

The last few days, have hit home very hard on me.  A discussion about posts I’ve made in the past concerning the situation many families and individuals find themselves:  Homelessness

Specially, with the economic downturn and the amount of people living on the streets.  Homelessness, hunger, children, and the state of our land of opportunity:  Community

Last night this was all brought home with an expose on 60 Minutes TV News Show.  It was a story about people living in automobiles with children on the streets:  Click to watch: Hard Times Generation: Families living in cars

Then this morning, another expose on a very similar subject on hunger in America:  How Walmart staffs up when food stamp balances reset

Now, I know a majority of Americans are highly educated, employed and hard working folks.  Nonetheless, we have many who are struggling to get by.  To put a roof over their families and food on the table.

How many food banks, church organizations, private charitable organizations are doing the best they can to provide support for those who really need their services such as:  Feeding America: Hunger-Relief Charity | FeedingAmerica.org

I know there is so many more I could list but would take pages to post.  The point is, I’m worried about the future for my fellow Americans.  Not the ones who have money, but the ones who don’t.

Out My Back Door

As I sit here in the heated comfort of my little RV, drinking my cup of hot coffee at the computer screen.  I look out  my back window.  There is a man I see out this window.  He lives there in the brush under a Yucca Tree in this vacant lot next to the RV Park.  It’s close to a public transportation bus stop which he uses every day to go somewhere.  Still, almost every night he spends it under the Yucca Tree in this lot.  He’s got a shopping cart which he lovingly packs and unpacks every day with his possessions.  I sit here and think just how fortunate I am as compared to this gentleman.  Then as the old saying goes, “for the grace of God”  comes to my mind.

How many people are living like this I wonder at times.  I heard a commercial on TV saying there was 50,000 people living on the streets of Los Angeles.  The talking head on the TV tells me that more people are slipping into poverty than any other time in the last half century.  Then on the presidential debate, I hear a participant state we need to roll back the war on poverty in this country that was started back in the sixties by a democratic president.

I’m not poor, neither am I rich, I live on the edge and I’m sure there is many more just like me in this country.  I don’t go hungry, nor am I cold at night.  Nonetheless, when I can observe it every where I’ve been across this country so far, I start to question the state of our nation.  I know friends and acquaintances who are struggling every day just to put a roof over their heads and food on the table.    Our so called leaders are out of touch, they really should come down from those ivory towers of government and walk the streets of our country.

Maybe I’m too soft, and maybe we should just tell everyone to buck it up, tighten your belt and find a job.  Pull your self up out of poverty, why this country is full of opportunity right?

Midnight Raider

I caught my feeder raider last night.  Looking for more to eat I guess.  There are several feral cats that roam the RV Park.  This is one of them.  The names have been changed to protect the innocent.