BRATTLEBORO — December 6, 2010: Driving south on Interstate 91 this morning as I crossed the border into Massachusetts, I saw a blue sky with patches of pink clouds shaped in a huge cross whose vertical part touched the earth.
Long lines of evergreens stretched on either side of gray asphalt, reminding me of childhood drives to Bayport, Long Island, to catch the ferry for Fair Harbor, Fire Island - vacations I took for granted.
How much of this country consists of long stretches of gray asphalt that run through forests and housing developments, past cities like Springfield and Hartford, past shopping malls that contain Barnes & Nobles, Best Buys, Bed, Bath & Beyonds?
It is hard to imagine what the Eastern seaboard looked like before the Industrial Revolution. It is harder to imagine that Americans will give up their addiction to gasoline in spite of its increasing price, not to mention global warming, extreme weather, and food shortages.
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Everything seems to be moving faster. I am reminded of the Weimar Republic, when men dragged carts full of paper bills to the grocery store to exchange for milk. My food budget was $49 a week six months ago and now is $75.
I love the co-op but can no longer afford the high price for local food and find myself standing in the aisle at Hannaford. There, I notice that the price of canned fruits and vegetables has risen, too. I look for bargains at Dottie's Discount Foods and go to the Dollar Store.
Instead of purchasing brand new bestsellers for the readers in my family, I go to the book sale at the Brooks Memorial Library and find four used books in good condition, pay 13 bucks, wrap each in festive paper, and mail them off to Miami.
I'm reminded that I want to visit my brother, and I found the round-trip airfare to Miami has risen to over $500.
The price of gasoline fluctuates wildly day by day and the public receives no rational reason. If the price of gas keeps on rising, I will have to find a place in West Hartford so I can sleep near my job.
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The politicians are discussing. This is what they are good at. They are discussing whether or not to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who are out of work for two years.
The unemployment rate is around 10 percent and not getting lower. I am not interested in supporting tax cuts for those who earn $200,000 or more a year. People are lucky to find a job. I know people with Ph.D.s working in Walmart.
I read in the AARP Magazine this week that people who are retired are declaring bankruptcy in record numbers. Affluence is defined as earning $75,000 dollars per year. With this high income, you would barely be able to pay bills if you lived in New York or Los Angeles, although that is not my worry.
With the economy veering wildly, financial seers are as numerous as locusts. Every day I go on the Internet, I get 20 e-mails from them, and believe me, I wish one of them were a prophet.
People print instructions from FEMA, and store cans of food and two gallons of water per person per day, just in case. I ask myself which “just in case” might happen first. Some citizens have purchased guns and taken lessons at shooting ranges in case riots break out in major cities.
Rumors thick as bats fly through the air. It is rumored that when the head of the Treasury Department tells the American public it will never default on FDIC, a bank takeover is likely in the near future. The Feds keep printing money, and the government goes more and more into debt.
One financial maven advises people to take out checks of no more than $10,000 at a time from any of their remaining savings and quickly turn those checks into gold American Eagles and gold Canadian Maples in order to have something to exchange for necessities when the dollar becomes worthless.
Letters on the Internet advise citizens to store gardening equipment and extra cans of gasoline to get through the panic of the first few days of what is starting to look like a forecast of the Apocalypse.
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During Gallery Walk on Friday night, a smiling man approached me.
”Excuse me, miss, but may I ask you something. Do you think you will get to heaven? Here, better read this.” He thrust a postcard with fine print into my hand and moved on to the next passerby.
That same night, I heard a loud knocking on my front door. Not knowing who it might be, I did not open the door.
The knocking grew louder. Finally, I opened it to see two firemen who offered me a free radio for emergency broadcasts. They said that FEMA had given them enough radios for 12,000 residents in and around Brattleboro.
All I had to do was plug it into my wall, as it was already programmed. That way, in case a train derailed or there was a blizzard, I would receive fair warning. I called a close friend and said how nice it was to open the door and get something for free.
“Don't kid yourself. They're doing that because of Vermont Yankee and possible radiation leaks to prevent lawsuits. The plant doesn't close for two years and they don't want to take a chance,” she said.
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As I drive, my mind turns to Brooks Memorial Library. I hear two volunteers discussing how much they count on Social Security benefits. One asks the other why there is no cost-of-living increase for the second year in a row.
My refrigerator holds six containers of yogurt, blueberries and raspberries I froze last summer, one carton of milk, and a broiled chicken. Restaurants are off the list, as are subscriptions.
I buy five loaves of Italian bread and bring them over to the Baptist church, where homeless people are having dinner.
Maybe before things get worse, we should learn how to make soap from lard and shear a sheep.