Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Traveling April 20th 2010

I haven't had to confront this before in this way because I live in a relatively affuent area. So people who could no longer afford to live in my area simply moved away and were replaced by those who could. This really says nothing about what socio-economic status the new people  but only that one way or the other they could afford to either buy or rent in an affluent area.

So, when I went to Ontario and stayed in a relatively nice hotel next to where Circus Vargas had their tent(co-incidence) I wasn't prepared for what I found there. There was a feeling in some ways like I was in a Ghost town of sorts like all the life had been sucked out of that area. When I looked around me everything looked mostly new. However, when I looked closer I could see just how many stores and office spaces were empty. And by the looks on many people's faces there was an unmistakable feeling of suffering that I'm not used to in California. However, I have seen this look of suffering throughout most of the world when I have traveled. I found it very unsettling to see this look of suffering here in the U.S. and especially in California where I mostly grew up and lived most of my life.

When I looked online I was surprised that the San Bernadino, Ontario, Riverside area was number 3 in the country in economic recession or depression(your choice). Number 1 and 2 were in Florida and in the top ten somewhere was Los Angeles. However, I live in Northern California nearer to San Francisco and that area is doing a little better than down south. However, since I grew up in Glendale it made me feel bad for the areas I grew up in. So, depending upon where you live in the U.S. you are either okay, or in a recession or you are presently living in a full on depression almost as bad as the 1930s now.

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