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A Homeless Woman's Sign (?)
By Mona Lease

Hi, all!! I was leaving McDonald's last Sunday. A woman - maybe 60ish - was at the exit at the edge of the sidewalk. She was holding a sign. The sign read: "Homeless. Will work for food or money." She looked at me as I read her sign. I looked the other way. The thoughts going through my mind will surprise you as much as they surprised me.

How did a woman - of obvious age - become homeless? Did she fall for the "credit card" game? Did she fall for "everyone has" - the internet, a cell phone, a home phone, car, - all the stuff that proves we've "made it" in this world? What caused her to become homeless/jobless? On any given day of the week at least 5 businesses are hiring on Wagner Avenue. McDonald's is hiring as I pen this. It is on their marque. She was standing a half of a block away from their marque. Can she not read? Did she write the sign she was holding? What went wrongly? Does she have no family or friends - no one that cares??

The first of the Presidential Debates went well (smirk!!). More sandbox activity. We heard Hillary say she was sorry for the nasty "email dilemma"...her hubby did a lot of apologizing when he was in office. I expected an apology from her. Trump sputtered a few of his usual things - when he had enough time to do so. News reports say Hillary sounded "cued, rehearsed, and robotic" I wouldn't go into a high-profile debate unrehearsed either. Nothing was gained here. I expected this, too. It seems like we've heard all of this previously. How did the debate get this way?? How did we - as a country - get to where we are?

Then I wondered: "Have we given away the very thing that will save us - might help us - might point us in the right direction?"

I had a call other day. It seems the woman is tired of cleaning up after her aged Mother. She said she was going to have a breakdown. The woman does not work. In the beginning the Mother could see to her own needs with ease and dignity. Ten years later that is not the case. Nothing was prepared in advance. If the Mother goes into a nursing home - the family home will go up for sale....with the money going to the care facility. The daughter said she does not care about that.

Especially in these times of "shifting sands" - "If we don't pay attention to what the people we have determined are "nursing-home worthy"  - what are we going to do?" This woman has lived through WW11, a recession, and the price of car fuel increased by at least 10 times. She lived through mandatory auto insurance and the invention of the helicopter when she was 5.

At 6 years old she saw the invention of the color television and aerosol spray cans when she was 7. Cake mixes hit the shelves when she was 15. Valium and non-dairy creamer were a '60's contribution to make life easier - nicer in our daily lives. In 1969 the artificial heart and bar code scanners were introduced for longevity and added ease. The '90's gave us the smart pill (anti-conception pill for those unscheduled "meetings") and digital answering machines (we screen our calls to avoid the "unwanted" ones to this day).

John Boehner resigned as Speaker of the House. He had been pressured to push for deeper spending cuts. He believed in "preserving the institution" and all the back-biting and deeper spending would not do that. He was not afraid to stand up for what is right and speak out against what is wrong. He was in Piqua, Ohio to see and speak to small business owners who were "going under" due to government mandated employee insurance coverage.

As rocky as it all looks - Hillary wanting guns gone from citizens' hands -Trump wanting a wall built...apologizing to the Mexicans, etc - when we relegate those we deem "too much work" or "beyond our capabilities" - (I've seen hospice go into nursing homes twice) - are we throwing away the very people who could help us? What did we ever do before the smart pill, hair spray, digital answering machines, and cake mixes???

Remember the kiddies and our service people. Take good care of the furry and feathered ones out there. Be safe and healthy. See ya next time. Ever Toodles!! MONA


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