Compassion is easy to find when you don't have any riches to protect...

[MrScorpio]

Instead, compassion becomes riches on its own.

[renie408]

1. This is such a bittersweet picture.

On the one hand I love the image of man and dog comforting each other, but I abhor the fact that they have to.

[Octafish]

2. Richest country in the world...

...wealthiest in human history, and people are considered less valuable than things.

[hfojvt]

3. that's not what the red cat says

http://www.as.ysu.edu/~laviehme/Courses/other/Katze.pdf

[JDPriestly]

4. Wonderful story.

[Sanity Claws]

8. Aber das ist auf deutsch

Mein deutsch is ganz schlecht. Ich verstehe nicht.

[hfojvt]

9. a fish might help

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

but it is a very sad story. One we read in 3rd or 4th year German. I can only get about half of it now.

[Lionessa]

5. I've noticed that too.

The people fastest to offer me a place to plug in and recharge, and park for the night, are those with the least.

Our society is truly backwards. I'm finding my homelessness very enlightening. And I fear I used to be part of the problem, though I did open my home, shower, and washer/dryer to some of the buskers that came through town festival-time, or any other time. As a matter of fact, if I hadn't seen how they live, I'd have never managed to set up a semi-tolerable homeless existence. Nonetheless I see now, that when I had it, I should've probably done more, at the ballot box too. I'm not sure that some of the votes to restrict property taxes or to abandon art and culture beneficiaries, and more I'm sure. It's not one thing or even one party, it's an American mindset that's just damn hard to crack. Those that have don't share and tend to steal from those that don't. Perhaps not just an American problem since it seems most of the world is in or teetering on the same financial precipice and most for the same reasons, greed and corruption.

I wonder, if/when I can get back up, will I revert by the same degree I am able to recover? I worry about that. I worry about being part of it, even if I don't revert. Oh, well, conundrums, can't live without them.

[renie408]

6. Jesus.

I don't know what to say. I want to say I am sorry for your situation, but you seem so calm about it.

No, you won't revert. We have been teetering on the verge of losing our house for the past two years (husband in construction, I train horses...you do the math). Every month we manage to squeak the payment in just in time to avoid foreclosure, but we are running about three months behind. I cannot see a way of ever catching up. Today I bought two lottery tickets for the $350 million Powerball. And do you know the first thing I thought about doing with that money if I win it? Setting up some kind of foundation that would work for universal healthcare in MedicalAdmin's name. I didn't use to be that way. When I used to have 'lottery dreams' they were all about what I could buy for me and mine. But being poor, not being able to afford health insurance ourselves and the struggling of the past few years has really changed me. I don't like the struggling, but I think I will try to keep the change.

If you need anything, holler. We don't have much, but we can usually cough up something. And we are about thirty minutes south of Charlotte, NC. If you need a place to park, we have both a big farm and a big house.

[Lionessa]

7. I am strangely calm, it bothers my family, they fear I've

just given up, which I haven't but I won't be slave labor at my age with my skills and background. I figure everyone who accepts such wages are inadvertently guilty of assisting tPtB, I figure this with no animosity, just noticing reality. Since I'm have no obligation to anyone at this time in my life, I have nothing to lose, and I'm a pretty minor burden on my daughter; I'm still trying to what I want to do and my value system honored before I worry about a monetary value system.

I am about as far from you as one can get and still be in the contiguous states. I'm leaving here though, weather is not going to work. Think I'll try AZ next. I know it's a red state similar in some ways to what I left behind in Idaho, but I've talked to many here that are from there or lived there and they tell me that the people aren't so red, it's a very gerrymandered state. So I'll go for six months and see what's up. Hopefully I can make a connection or two before I quite get on the road that way.

Or so is the plan today, it could change tomorrow. If I get that way I'll let you know, and thank you.