A Glimpse of the Future

I was slapped in the face by the future yesterday when my wife and I took a side trip to an aging mall in a nearby city. I can easily remember when this mall was the place to go and it was packed with crowds of people every weekend. Now there are only a few retail stores open in the whole complex. The store my wife wanted to visit had more employees in attendance than customers.

While my wife shopped, I walked the length of the mall. At least half of the lights in the open areas of the mall were turned off to cut operating costs. Rather than retail operations, the locations in the mall that were open were Armed Forces recruiting offices and federal and county governmental offices.

What nearly stopped me in my tracks and has since filled me with cold dread, were the middle-of-the-mall operations. Rather than seeing the usual Battery Stop, Sunglass Hut, and Things Remembered operations, there were folding tables covered with worn tablecloths and bed sheets. The tables held an assortment of what could only be described as rummage sale and cheap flea market merchandise. Behind these rectangles of mostly worn out and useless merchandise I invariably saw a middle-aged or elderly couple. These were not churches or local non-profit organizations trying to raise funds, these were unemployed couples trying to raise a few dollars to keep the utility bills paid.

One couple in particular stood out. Their table held the poorest selection of goods for sale, including such items as well used fishing tackle, phonograph albums that no collector would ever want, and a selection of old, rusted license plates. The man looked up at me as I passed by and gave a slight nod. The weary lines of his face conveyed in an instant not only the decades of honest physical labor he had put in, but also the crushing weight and despair of the poverty he and his wife are now experiencing.

What has haunted me since seeing him is that my wife and I could very easily find ourselves in that same situation at some point in the future. Stashed away in various parts of our house are items very similar to the ones that couple were hoping to sell. The progression of events that could reduce our current financial situation to that level are not unimaginable, and in fact are becoming more evident everyday.

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