"My latter Life, and Times"

About getting stuff forever, and ever. The Xmas tide washes over our frayed republic. So everybody is buying all the Korean, and or Chinese crap they can. At a 300% mark-up when it gets unloaded at our docks.

Well I'm no longer a consumer so I guess I can now be objective. We really don't need hardly anything. 90% of "Stuff' is optional. as my pal Geneva Hagen sez. We can instead use the same stuff for years on end, and don't need much new stuff.

I mean other than new shoes each winter. Maybe a new coat or jacket two every few years. That's about it. My computer, and phone are fine. They have been for years, and will be for another 10 years. They still look good too because I takes care of them. Other than food meds shelter books a few toys, and a movie now, and then we're fine.

I treat myself to some little nice thing at least once a month. This as opposed to damned near every day as is going on all around me. It actually means more when you have to save for it plan for it all that. Like our parents, and grand parents had to do.

I watch as folks buy the same thing over, and over because it has new apps or this special bing-bang or they'll die. Nuts. Mind you being poor is a drag. I used to like buying junk it was fun...but who needs it.

Also from Geneva, "...My own measure of poor (emergencies aside) is whether I can afford to eat what I want to!"

"...are there no work houses are there no prisons?"

Being seriously poor is a super drag. An extinction level event. Never been there hope not to. Still being just somewhat poor is manageable.

A calm peaceful home is good for the soul. Sure I get nuts. Though not so demented as I would if the digs were chaotic. Tidy...tidy makes all the difference. Rich or poor. Nice tidy digs keeps you sane, and creative.

See,...creative.

As for eating. For a while not as nice as I used to. This was mostly my poor organizing of what my small income could do. Learning to be poor is I imagine like learning to be rich. You have to plan things. I still had many middle class habits. This caused any number of disasters. Now it's calmer. I buy food rationally, and plan nice events at least twice a month.

By world standards I'm rich as sin.

By oblivious upper middle class American standards I'm eating out of a dumpster. Fuck'em I'm fine.

I now know what I always supposed. One does not need very much to have a pleasant or at least calm life.