signs of the times

Though not really. He was more or less given a few days to come up with the final $200 of his rent, and he couldn’t do it.

He’s been here six years.

O. has been here for 6 years. This is the last of his stuff, he's gone now.

Matt called today and tells me that a friend of his had mentioned that she’s noticed that everywhere she goes shopping there are signs saying “NOT TAKING APPLICATIONS.”  

She’s going to start taking pictures of those signs.

I live near Berkeley, California, and since my wife was a student there, we’re pretty familiar with the area. One of the shops she worked at while she was a student, Waddle & Swaddle, just closed. This shop catered mostly to the rich folks who lived in the Berkeley hills, but had a very loyal following among natural birth enthusiasts, and was owned by a practicing Doula. This shop sold all manner of baby clothes and books and toys, hosted all sorts of birthing classes for new parents, and had been there over a decade.

We were attending the closing/goodbye party, and I decided to take a walk down to Cheeseboard to get some pizza for the celebration. On my way there, I stopped at Elephant Pharmacy, a large indie shop that sold food, books, produce, and all manner of household necessities. Elephant Pharm is another local touchstone. Everybody shops there, everybody knows the place, and it has a very loyal following. I asked if  they had an ATM, and was told no. As the customer service lady returned to her previous conversation, I overheard her tell someone “Yeah, no, we’re going out of business, too, just slowly . . .”

I don’t know what else was referred to with the “too” since I hadn’t mentioned Waddle & Swaddle. It was kinda chilling. I happen to know another local store owner who isn’t sure if she can stay open much longer.

Thankfully, Cheeseboard still seemed to be thriving. I don’t know how recently it happened, but they’d expanded their operations since I’d been there last, and the line out the door thumpin’ to the band’s beat was just like old times.

I recently started working as a canvasser. I go door-to-door asking people to support a charity/non-profit organization working to end poverty and support children worldwide.

For the last week, our turf has been a wealthy Boston suburb. And yet, day after day, door after door, I hear the same lines:

“I’m sorry. I’d love to support you, but we’re all unemployed here.”
“Nope. Just lost my job.”
“Can’t, sorry, I was recently laid off.”
“I’ll save you your time – I’m not going to have enough money to support my family for too much longer, I don’t have any for you.”
“My family’s in a really bad financial situation. Sorry.”

It might just be an excuse. People might be trying to avoid a more awkward rebuff. But there are plenty of people who just don’t give money door-to-door that I’m doubtful.

This isn’t in the heart of Boston, or in Dorchester, or Southie, or Roxbury. This isn’t in some of the more economically depressed cities in/around Boston or Massachusetts. This isn’t in the Midwest, or the South – this is New England. A city with an average income of over $132,000 a year, average home value of nearly $700,000.

And yet, door after door, people are saying the same sorts of things. It’s definitely not everyone – but it’s a lot of people.

My oldest son, who works at a deli and was working six days a week, has been out of work since Christmas. My daughter, who works at the same deli and was working five days a week, this past week worked only one day. She “wasn’t needed” otherwise. Her husband, in construction, has been laid off for five months. Another son is in IT and doing okay, but did recently take a 20% “temporary” cut in pay. It’s pretty ugly out there, but we knew that, eh?

The potholes in the roads of Providence, Rhode Island are something Fierce.  My grandmother used to say, “well, it gives people work”…

RI has a 10% unemployment rate.  That’s the official rate.

Nezua, thanks for starting this.

this blog is a group effort to chronicle the oncoming economic depression and all its signs and symptoms. just to keep a record. as i imagine it, most of the posts will be short. snippets. fotos. as if writing on a wall, or notes to keep and remember. but there is no hard rule in place.

perhaps action will spring out of it all. maybe this blog can also be a way for people to find work or give away goods or pass on hints and tips. i have a feeling we’re all gonna need each other real soon even more than we do now. despite the positive moves being made by our socialist prez.