Some lovely homes will be abandoned.
Decisions about what qualifies as a pet.
Massive SUVs will be unkempt and only keep 1/8th of a tank of fuel.
Dark, or grey roots will grow out.
What was (not) really important, will now be realllly not important, in the long view.

“Living large, on the credit card”, will be a red-faced memory of foolish grandstanding & posturing, where there was no foundation to honestly support the faux lifestyle, to begin with.
Many, will simply alter the verbal script, when seen in public.
“I’ve always loved bicycling!”

“I really love fresh air! Air conditioning is so artificial!”

“I never realized that I sweat so much”

“Sealed windows keep the riff-raff out. They are a necessity, for power companies.

Pools.
Watch what happens nearly overnight.
Some will attempt to maintain them, since they have the time.
But, pools require chlorine, and/or salt, and/or diatomaceous earth, parts and routine repairs.
Water, over “X” number of gallons, comes with increased fees, per gallon.

Some families, will consolidate.
Pool resources - or, necessarily, absorb the extended costs.
Many Americans, will still, stubbornly, insist that none of this is their fault.
That they don’t need help.
Won’t help.
Never needed help.
Never helped.

They will feign reaching for nonexistent boot straps that they used to love trashing others about.
They will, one day, pray for a minimum-wage job, with any hours available.
Then, hold that against those deemed lesser.
Old habits being what they are.

Countless others, will try to keep up appearances, as if the depression doesn’t affect them - they were prepared.
They will give Academy Award performances, while in public - only to return to darkened homes, with empty driveways, empty cupboards and emptier souls.

Exceptionalism, will fuel foolish expenditures, as capitalist spending addictions still tug at the psyche of the selfish junkies.
Times millions.
Reality Patio will be cold, harsh and unforgiving - and, will make for awkward encounters of equally feigned concern.

Expect to see even more separation, as the obvious finally cements itself upon those that “had it made”.
The chasm, will be difficult to navigate, for those that the American Dream worked for, owing to corporate largess, essentially:
You have nothing of value to offer, in return

Expect loose cannons, to fire at will, in any direction.
They were the “heroes” of senseless spending. “Lookit what I got!”.
Propped up, like a facade town in a Blazing Saddles remake.
Steaks. Top shelf spirits.
Lifted trucks.
Boats. (On trailers!)
Gallons per hour.
Make believe.

Campers, will either become homes, or rentals - or, repossessed.
Clothing, sans labels, or unspoken costs.
Duct tape, will become a commodity.
Save that string and the bubble-packing.
Body odor, will become a parallel to endless days of nothingness - just as unnoticed.

Remember when you thought nothing of a $250 “affliction” t-shirt?
If you still had it, beyond the next trend that ate you alive, you could par-boil it, and make a soup.
But, you threw it away. Twice.

My parents, were children of The Great Depression.
Although I never wanted for anything, growing up, I was never spoiled with unnecessary trappings. They KNEW.

My mother tells of leaving plates of food - a plate! - for men who begged to do menial labor, for that skimpy meal.

Some, she said, would wrap the offerings in handkerchiefs - a sure sign that there were others to be fed.
Others, would shine the plate clean, and return it to the stoop, for the next hapless homer.

I’ve seen folks #OnHere comment about David Geffen - at the complete opposite end of that spectrum.
Let me make clear to you, the choices that vessels at sea have:
A) Eventually, they must return to shore
B) They become ghost vessels
C) They sink
Time (nor seas) waits for no man

But, getting back to my parents generation - they are the reason we are in dire straits, as a nation.
They voted for their own selfish interests. Not even their children’s best interest. Labeled their own.
Chastised, and cast them aside.

They voted-in lawmakers and corpo wags, that drove down wages and benefits, until there was no more room. And, there they stayed.
Then, they bitched about lack of service and knowledgeable clerks.

They bought into the military war machine, and industrial complexes, because that’s what worked for them.
When the excesses became obvious, they bought into the big, bad boogeyman of the day, and pushed that over to prisons.
“The Greatest Generation”.
Afraid of themselves.

They are the reflection of Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes, and now, Trump.
Yes, they fought their way - voted their way - right into Russian arms.
I remember the nuclear logos, in my elementary school, as a shelter from the Red Threat.

They gave us away. For what?
Contrived fears.