I'm going to lay on top of JerseyKRS now. I'm rich in Internet love!
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I have been a homeowner in the same town for almost 10 years now and there is no way the town or school would try that "lost your paperwork" crap with me now.
When low income and you get that response your only recourse is to fill out a complaint form that they are going to lose. Now I'm older than movies, Now I'm wiser than dreams, And I know who's there
When silhouettes fall | |
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Isn't it heartbreaking to see exactly what makes you worthy in this country? Not your talents, your kindness, or your deeds. Just your wallet. | |
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i never intended to say that life can't be hard in the Western world, i just have seen things in my travels that gave me some perspective on what we generally consider hardship or poverty.
dirt floors, BO, lack of hygiene, etc. are the rule rather than the exception for many people outside the West.
malaria, cholera, large numbers of people urinating and defecating in the street and along train tracks, people actually dying of starvation....we don't really see those things here. everyone's a fruit & nut case | |
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at least we see it.
ever notice how corporations will hire low income service sector employees to treat low income people like crap Now I'm older than movies, Now I'm wiser than dreams, And I know who's there
When silhouettes fall | |
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We (Mom and I) had our moments. When she was out of work, I can remember being on food stamps. I remember powdered milk and donated canned goods off donation food pantries once or twice.
I don't know if that means we were sometimes poor or what. We always had a safe and nice (and most importantly HAPPY) roof over our heads. I guess Mommy had a good way of balancing things out for me. | |
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Poor? No. Broke? Hell yes.
I've never been without absolute essentials or the safety net of others who could furnish them at my simple request. But I've been in situations -- almost all of which my parents allowed us to be in when I was a child and, later, I allowed myself to be in as an adult -- wherein things were very uncomfortably tight... even financially in shambles. And, no, I was not content. I was utterly miserable, because I knew the mismanagement of "stuff" placed me in those situation. It owned us/me, rather than vice versa -- and there was no excuse for it.
I am grateful never to have been earnestly poor -- and I do not romanticize it -- but I think there's something potentially sobering, priority-setting and motivating when a person must manage with next to nothing -- and no option to acquire it. It can show you the real worth of things in life and move you, one way or the other, to honor that worth through hard work and real appreciation. [Edited 8/25/10 21:51pm] Ὅσον ζῇς φαίνου
μηδὲν ὅλως σὺ λυποῦ πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐστὶ τὸ ζῆν τὸ τέλος ὁ χρόνος ἀπαιτεῖ.” | |
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yeah, for instance "pine ridge" native american reservation in south dakota, some of the worst poverty i've ever seen in my life! | |
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to answer your question....yes, i was poor almost my entire childhood. was homeless, lived in motels, gov. housing, went without food, my parents had to sell everything we owned several times. had to go to food closets and churches for food i don't know how many times. and my dad always worked, it's just it was never a good paying job. but somehow we always made it through. it's like just when we would hit rock bottom and be sleeping in a motel room, or in a car, some angel of a person would pop into our lives to help us. i will never forget the things i went through as a child, and seeing my parents cry because they didn't know how to buy food for me or milk. those memories are burned into my brain forever. one thing i will always admire about my parents is that they would work 5 jobs at once if they needed to in order to take care of me. my dad is one of the hardest working men i've ever seen in my life. it must of been hard for him to be judged so much by others thinking because he's poor he must be lazy.
also right after my husband and i got married we were in bad shape for the first few years, then everything got better when he was promoted at his job. we are okay right now, we get by pretty much paycheck to paycheck. but we never go without anything. | |
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My boyfriend on the other hand has experienced real poverty and it breaks my heart to know what he has been through although he doesn't talk about it much.
With a very special thank you to Tina: Is hammer already absolute, how much some people verändern...ICH hope is never so I will be! And if, then I hope that I would then have wen in my environment who joins me in the A.... | |
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to you and everyone else here who had times like that With a very special thank you to Tina: Is hammer already absolute, how much some people verändern...ICH hope is never so I will be! And if, then I hope that I would then have wen in my environment who joins me in the A.... | |
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. [Edited 8/26/10 2:01am] | |
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Oh Yeah. Gotta Love it.
Or when you've just 'become' poor like the day before and you walk in for the first time with your eye phone and gucci bag, and proceed to tell them you have no money food shelter or vehicle. I've reached in darkness and come out with treasure
I layed down with love and I woke up with lies Whats it all worth only the heart can measure It's not whats in the mirror but what's left inside | |
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Anyways, to answer the question, I don't know that I'd say I've been poor.
When I was going through my divorce, I no longer had the luxuries I did wen I was married, but my kids still got fed, and we never slept one night without a roof over our head. It might not have been the food or roof of choice but it was still there. We slept on the floor, and had no furniture or ac or vehicle all last summer and fall, but we had fun doing it. It was like camping. I just kept worrying about the kids the whole time. LIKE, OMG my kids lives are ruined cuz I'm not taking them to the beach this summer, or cuz I can't get them ice cream. But yanno what. They didn't complain a ONCE and you woulda thought I had just bought them a pet dinosaur the first time they came home after a weekend at their dads and saw that I had finally bought a LIGHT BULB for their bedroom, or when I had picked them up some cheap bath toys at the dollar store. I swear they appreciated that stuff more than they EVER appreciated all the motorized glorified toys we used to get them.
I have to say those were some great days, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. I've reached in darkness and come out with treasure
I layed down with love and I woke up with lies Whats it all worth only the heart can measure It's not whats in the mirror but what's left inside | |
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I never wanted for anything as a child. Even though my parents were college educated and had good jobs, they were very, very frugal, both of them. They had lived thorugh the depression where food was scarce; consequently, they never forgot that and learned how to save and not spend money on frivolous stuff. I never went hungry as a child, ever. But when I was in college, I had many a day when I didn't have enough money to buy a meal. I lived in the dorm, but had used up all the money my folks had sent me for food. I was too ashamed to tell them I was broke, so I made do with soup and hot dogs for a while. I eventually got a part-time job while in college so I had extra money to buy food and incidentals.
As an adult, I've done OK. In my 20's I was living paycheck to paycheck, but I never had utilities turned off or missed a car note. For a minute, I had a bill collector harrassing me, but I put a stop to that by paying off the bill and vowing never, ever to let that happen again. I hated that shit! This mofo even called my neighbor when he knew I wouldn't answer the phone!
After I lost my job in '07 and was unemployed for three years, I was able to keep my house, pay my bills and buy food all by the grace of an inheiritance left to me by my daddy. If it hadn't have been for that, I might have been up shit's creek.
I'm back to work now, but not making the money I was making before, so I have to be careful about spending. I consider myself blessed because I don't have to support any kids; don't have any. But I do have to keep my 7 kitties in food and cat litter. | |
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"We may deify or demonize them but not ignore them. And we call them genius, because they are the people who change the world." | |
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I've seen parts of Oakland that looked abandoned "We may deify or demonize them but not ignore them. And we call them genius, because they are the people who change the world." | |
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I'd be "poor" if not for my family, which has a considerable fortune; I'm a mediocre young man, lazy as a lion... | |
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I can't believe you said all that with not one word about SHOES! "Let love be your perfect weapon..." ~~Andy Biersack | |
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For real... "Let love be your perfect weapon..." ~~Andy Biersack | |
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I remember when i was very young, probably around the age of 6 (i'm 21 now), my family was pretty poor. We couldn't really afford furniture, so we just had lawn chairs in the living room. No table at the time either. I see pictures now of me and my brother's birthday and all of our presents came from the dollar store. And the methods of transportation! My dad is pretty much a god when it comes to cars, but even he couldn't get those pile of shit to run for very long.
Now life is much, much better. My dad makes a ton of money. I still play pokemon. I play warcraft. And I'm awesome. | |
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Fool! Shoes were implied with "indulge myself however I desire"
Now that you mention it, I remember patching the holes in my shoes with cardboard as a kid. Not sure if my mother even knew about that. I usually only had 2-3 pairs of shoes at any given time.
My fascination with expensive shoes is a pretty recent development that I trace back to December 31, 2006. The night Prince complimented my boots. I bought at least 25 pairs of shoes in the 12 months that followed that night. | |
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http://prince.org/msg/7/342270
I'm firmly planted in denial | |
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Born and raised poor as fuck....my dad was a deadbeat and my single mother had to provide for my brother and I alone....
Got married...did the poor thing for a LONG assed time before getting things straightened out...
So yes... | |
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For me the better question is "have I ever NOT been poor? The answer is NO, not really. (1998 I made $25,000 weirdly enough). Have I resigned myself to being poor forever? Hell NO! [Edited 8/28/10 8:03am] There came a time when the risk of remaining tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anais Nin. | |
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Poor right now.
Yes, I can buy new clothes and go out on the town now and again... But to do that, I have to live in the worst part of town; underneath a crack dealer.
I have money in my pocket for the first ten days after payday and then survive on fresh air for the next twenty days every month. Please don't tell me to "budget"... If I spread-out my wage over the month, I'd never be able to leave the flat.
I haven't had a week's holiday away from my hometown since 1985. My last break away was two nights at a friend's house in the countryside in June 2009. My last holiday in another country was two nights in Brussels, in 2001.
My parents give me frozen leftover food to eat, and none of it is stuff I'd choose to eat if I had an option.
I've been single since a bad relationship in 2006. I'd love to meet someone, but I couldn't afford to sustain a period of dating; just simple things like going to the movies, or meals out, or bowling costs money. | |
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Hell I'm po right NOW! "Bring friends, bring your children and bring foot spray 'cause it's gon' be funky." ~ Prince
A kiss on the lips, is betta than a knife in the back ~ Sheila E Darkness isn't the absence of light, it's the absence of U ~ Prince | |
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[Edited 8/31/10 0:46am] | |
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. [Edited 8/30/10 20:05pm] | |
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