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[quote=Anonymous]Do you shop at WalMart? [b]No. There was no Walmart at that time (late 70s and 80s). But we did shop at Family Dollar, hunt yard sales, and at thrift stores we could afford.[/b]
Do you eat fast food all the time? [b]We couldn't afford to eat out. We lived off of food stamps (the paper ones, not the "card"). [/b]
How big is your home? [b]I grew up in a single-parent home (w/ mother), 5 children. Our "home" was a 3 bedroom trailer - no running water/electricity/mailbox/vehicle.[/b]
What do you DO on weekends? [b]We stayed at home and ran around our yard/neighborhood. Drank a lot of Kool Aid and ate a lot of government cheese during the summer (I missed school because we qualified for free breakfast and lunch).[/b]
Where do you go on vacations? [b]Never went on a vacation with my family. But we were lucky to live near a river and me and my brothers swam there during the summers.[/b]
Do you have very few clothes? Shoes? [b]We had very few shoes. Mom purchased shoes from Family Dollar and due to the quality they did not last very long. Even though I tried hard to take good care of them. When I got older, I was very self-conscious of my shoes (and clothes), but I never gave mom a hard time about it -- I knew we couldn't afford anything more.[/b]
If you're too poor to go out, what do you do to get together with friends? [b]We hung out in the neighborhood - played kick ball, basketball, baseball, swam, played marbles, and sat under shade trees (no AC in the house). [/b]
Do you have any friends who are well off? [b]When I got older (~11 or 12) I worked for a farmer. I thought he was rich -- now I know better. Being rich or "well off" is relative.[/b]
What do you do for fun? [b]I enjoyed family and friends. But, most of all, I recall how much I enjoyed having alone time -- retreats into the woods or to the river. I'm a runner, so I knew how to make quick and silent exits. c: [/b]
What do you think is the qualifier that makes a person poor? [b]Free lunch eligibility in school. It was critical for me -- both mentally and physically. However, back then, schools made it very obvious who the free lunch kids were. But hey, you swallow your pride when you're hungry enough. No one ever teased me about free breakfast/lunch, but you knew that your classmates knew you were poor. I know some people oppose paying taxes for subsidized lunch programs, but please know the provisions mean a lot to many children who don't have.[/b]
Do your kids know you're poor? [b]I knew we were poor. I think most children in poverty learn this early on -- their parents don't have to tell them.[/b]
What do they do after school? [b]We went home -- mom did not work, but she was not always around when we got there, either. You grow up fast in this kind of environment. Poverty is most often debilitating. Few, few can rise above it.
[/b]Do they get teased in school? [b]I got teased about my clothes and shoes, at times. But I don't recall anything over the top. I know there were bullies around, but for the most part, kids have hearts.[/b]
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