Recession Deepens

Driving about the town, it's hard to tell at first there's a recession on, let alone one that's so deep it could actually go depression. I mean, the freeways are still busy, although not nearly as busy as a year ago. Many people have found ways to carry on for the time being ... by being very chincy. The discord at Clovis Big Hat Days exploded onto the local news. Everybody was unhappy. With tons of booths offering merchandise and restaurants hoping for business staying open, a hoard of people came to Big Hat just like last year, but spending nothing! Seems everybody had the same idea. Make it to the hat, but hold onto the wallet. Maybe go to the Mickey D's for the dollar menu (a practice that will have you soon spending money on the doctor).
It's all about stretching things out. I tried out shopping for clothes at the thrift store. Found two amazing articles of clothing for $3. I've always enjoyed thrift stores for finding ashtrays, plates, glasses, coffee tables, plant pots and stuff like that. But my friends have turned me on to shopping there for stuff to wear.
But the surface hides a lot of what's really going on. Did you know that at Fresno's food banks, a line forms that is 8 hours long because the clients are waiting for food to arrive? That's right, the food is off the shelves as soon as it arrives. What's more, roughly 30% of all who are in line will have never gotten any food by the end of any given day. A year ago, old foodstuffs would still have been gathering dust on the musty shelves of the typical food bank...
Man, don't turn on the news.
Over the weekend, across the country, the occurrence of unprovoked attacks and mass shootings continues to go epidemic, the commonality being the person doing it was laid off and was a gun nut. Other motives turn out to be pretty much recession-related. Plenty of odd acts of violence erupting in Fresno, and not the typical gang or cop violence, although some cops have taken out their frustrations on the homeless. Footage of our cops beating up the homeless have graced the cable news all year.
The valley's west side will be fallow this year, due to water shortage, but also because of salinity turning fields unproductive.... Most people don't know that.
Yup, one is reminded agaijn of the foolheartiness of basing an entire economy (the Central Valley's) on unsustainable agricultural practices. The corporation that farmed one field now must acquire pristine land elsewhere and turn it into a new field for production. It's killing our state and leaves wildlife habitat devastated.
But living unsustainably is what got us all here, isn't it? We've gone over the last century from impoverished to rather rich, but have never had a chance to question if our ways. It's always a bridge to cross when you get to it.