"We're braving it,"

   One business woman said to another.  They were hanging out in the woods for a few days as tariff wars raged.  There were those who insisted, no side except American.  So, political causes were being disguised and subsumed.  The political cause, my dear, becomes survival.  Even Northener/Southerner heritages were being packed into trunks and other compartments in exchange for civilized enough. 

  The business women traded recipes and while I can't tell you what brand you have to use, I can tell you, well, frankly they were better pancakes with a higher quality of ingredients.  Of course, we were months behind everybody else in acquiring, you know, better goods. 

  Everybody else shmelse.  Everybody is in deep shidoodoo. 

  Young people just launching; older people already half-starved and with care dissipating; married, unmarried, self-titled, and loners feeling the contractions.  People with a stitch of kindness left somewhere beyond last nerve tried at every turn, rise, and dip on the rollercoaster ride to soothe situation and walk it back. 

  "It's ALL ABOUT MONEY!" 

  "BIG SURPRISE boy genius.  And you're too tall to sit on your mother's lap." 

  Because whole swaths of money can disappear in a flash in money-wars people suggested "diversifying" but the in-debt system (black hole money suck) kept creating more and more "guard rails" and regulations and boxing to eek out livelihood and "life".  Those who'd cautioned, We're out of tricks very often could not talk about impending and what that'll mean--see-saw tipping.  And, breaking everyone's hearts....we failed here. 

  The woods were alive with people seeking solace.  And for as much as there was anger in the streets, there were people who went to great efforts to be as fair as possible with not enough.  Not enough interest, not enough working hours, not enough physical labor, not enough capital, not enough, not enough.  Even previously steady-jobbed people were like wearing mis-matched shoes with no arch support and hole-y clothing.  The entire consumer landscape kept changing but because it was a war, stay positive! 

  Victory or death? 

  Yep!  Cut up these coupons.

  Get honest. 

  Use what you have. 

  Pay down the debt, pay down the debt. 

  Most of the middle age men were mumbling these things as heavy lids were shutting against can't do this anymore.  That, and hurry up and graduate to little kids.  Give it a rest little kids sounded like grownups quelling. 

  The last thing we need to do is fight about it.

  Let's skip that part. 

  Couples quietly agreed to disagree.  The enormity of violence in the world-at-large shocked people into alternatives.  Some people were getting quite inventive.  Then you'd see people months later and the reality of alternative and seemed like a good idea at the time, well, a whole grassroots movement developed around the toll the war was taking.  Take care of you, my own mama warned against spinning wheels, out-thinking myself, exhaustion.  Can't hurry an old oak tree, we thought of dozens of variations on the same old truths.