main street, usa

Maybe it's because finances have always been tied together with string here—or duct taped—but the world's economic gloom does not seem to have descended on the Ozarks. People seem to go about their business, what little of it there is, as before. They shop at Walmart now—but then they have done so for years since Walmart started in this area. Their 401Ks are nonexistant, but then they always were. They sell some trees, have yard sales, grow vegetable gardens, drive old trucks and raise beef. The hurting here is among horse breeders whose feed budget has gone way up with fewer sales now of expensive eating machines. But that started some years back, thanks to biofuels. So the rich are probably hurting, but the rural areas have been down so long it feels like up to me.
Speaking of horse breeders, here are links to Dianne's blog and Denise's website.