Re-cap: Episodes 1 thru 9 (Episode #10 will post next week) click on "grippers" and scroll down for previous nine episodes.
The great American paradox (Episode #6) of today is that there are millions of people across this great land that are simultaneously rich and poor. They are "rich" (materially) because they have most everything money can buy; a car, big-screen TV, appliances, clothing, air-conditioned homes, video game systems, computers, cell phones, cable TV, etc. They are "poor" because they have lost their jobs, cannot find a new job and are, literally speaking, rapidly running out of money. They are losing their grip. These are the pre-homeless folks I call "Grippers", people hanging on for dear life to what they have, hoping and praying that the economic tsunami that is engulfing the nation does not sweep them away and plunge them into the nether world we call "homelessness", a place that might be in a car or under a bridge or in an alleyway or abandoned building requiring no forwarding address.
Episodes #1 thru #9 of the "Grippers" follows the journey of the Slider family, Bob, his wife Tracey and their 12 year old son, Jake. Kind, decent, law-abiding, hardworking folks their whole lives they unexpectedly go through a downward spiral that includes both of them losing their jobs and rapidly running out of money. They buy some time by holding a huge yard sale and, combined with the sale of Tracey's car, manage to garner over $1200.00. Combined with some assistance from the St. Vincent De Paul Society in getting their electricity turned back on they are caught up with their obligations (except credit cards) through the month of June. Bob is trying to find some work and they both have applied for unemployment, Tracey for the second time because she had been "kicked out of the system" when her computer failed during a thunderstorm and she could not sign in on time.
Next time: Episode #10 Good news and Bad News
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