Forgotten Dreams

Someplace like America, has some sort of negative connotation associated behind it. In the introduction I was extremely shocked. The story grabbed my attention when I heard of a Hobo being murdered and a flier that warned other “tree people”. Now this is in Santa Barbara, one of the richest places in California. If I was homeless and if that would ever happen to me, I would feel like a criminal, especially if the police were to help clear the area of low lives. These journalists were pretty brave to live that day as hobos. They indeed had a good story to write about. “People will rise to the challenge of these hard times.”(Maharidge 3)

I believe in the quote, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. Being poor, dirt poor, is something I have seen through my parents. They lived in the poor areas of the Philippines and in the dangerous areas of Queens, New York. People who are poor will truly value everything they have from the place they sleep to the food scraps they can find in the dumpster. The woman who was upper class and was suddenly poor showed me that shit happens. This intro that Michael and Dale have provided for the reader makes me wonder what economic experts do. I wonder about the level of education and experience they get, and what do they do financially with personal belongings. Dale did say, “The economic experts were repeatedly wrong in the lead-up to the 1929 market crash and they continued to be wrong through the 1930’s as they predicted a turnaround. How are American citizens depending on them today? We are already having problems with our stock market. Unemployment is still an issue that I am concerned about today too. I don’t think people don’t understand what labor truly is. That woman who had to work 3 jobs including a restaurant is really sad, because she won’t be able to retire. She is literally going to work until she dies, unless someone does something about it.

I think Michael and Dale wants us to be aware certain areas that are effected by unemployment. “You will be introduced to the city of Youngstown, destroyed by the closing of steel mills and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of well-paid jobs”, Dale explains. From being middle class or upper class to living in poverty, looking for places to sleep and food to eat, Somewhat Like America looks it is a promising book that show how citizens struggle every single day of their life. What I think Michael and Dale are doing is great. It sounds like they have a sense of adventure living out a different world other than their own. The pictures may influence the reader even greater, especially if there is a poor child looking straight at the camera. I would be inclined to help these people if I saw some pictures. One thing is for sure though. We need to make people aware of places like Youngstown, the struggles of the citizens, and figure out how we can improve America.