Wednesday, January 18. 1984

The diarrhea is over. Hooray!

The local library caved in; several years ago the post office caved in. I wonder if the same contractor built both buildings? The post office rented a vacant grocery store building, but now can't afford the utility bills, and is going to move back into the caved-in post office building. If the government can't afford the utility bills in the grocery store building, no wonder the independently owned grocer went bankrupt. Grocers only make about one percent net income.

In Tennessee, the Appalachian Electric Company turned off the power to a nursing home in twenty degree weather, and the nursing home didn't get the power turned back on for eleven hours. How incredibly cruel can you be. Patients could have died. My seventy-seven year old mother is always cold, no matter how much I try to bundle her up in warm clothing. Her skin is always cool and cold to the touch. She is always "freezing" and complaining the heat isn't high enough, even though I have the thermostat turned up to seventy degrees, and that's about seventy degrees more than I can afford. She turned her furnace up at her own home until it was suffocating for an average person, even me, just to keep warm. Needless to say, her bills were exorbitant and she couldn't afford it on Social Security. Why don't the gas and electric companies follow the leadership of the businesses in this area, and give reduced prices to the elderly on Social Security, and the nursing homes, as well? I know their stockholders can afford it, since they seem to be the only ones around here with a profit after expenses that are guaranteed.

In 1980, both my Mother's house and mine appraised close to $50,000.00 each. Next year I will feel lucky to be able to sell either of them, outright or contract for deed, even if I financed them myself one-hundred percent - for $40,000.00 and $30,000.00 at two percent interest. I wouldn't mind so much, but I've spent at least $12,000.00 on improvements for my house the last fifteen years, plus the original price. I am definitely on the losing end of the stick. I said I wasn't a masochist, but beat me again, just to see how much I can take.

I'm afraid of this depression, and it is, indeed, a depression from my front window, and from my neighbors front windows too. I'm afraid of not have a job to be able to live in the $6,000.00 to $7,000.00 a year lifestyle I've accustomed myself to for the last twenty-five years. I'm afraid of literally being in the street, hungry, homeless and possessionless. I don't have any relatives that are able to help at all. I am alone and freighted!

If this state passes a law for mandatory car insurance, since I can't afford any type of insurance at all, I will be even less employable, because there isn't transportation to the job markets, wherever the jobs are, and I won't be able to afford to drive.