I think that Florida was that place that sealed our poverty.  The military doesn't pay well.  Having two very young kids saps what money you do have.

While we had one half of a duplex at that time, it doesn't mean we weren't poor.

I remember a hurricane.  I don't remember which one.  But I remember the aftermaths.

Someone my mom knew would let us swim in their pool.  It was free and it was good fun for us.

I remember the hurricane because the pool was filled with a tree trunk and debris.  The one place my mom took us could no longer be used.

I think poverty affects you in a different way.  Poor people don't always think about the free things that are available to them:  libraries, museums, parks, etc.

We could have gone to libraries.  We could have had a healthy appetite for painting, sculpture, or whatever.

But when you don't know where your next dollar will come from, driving a car, that uses gas, taking time to go do things that could be spent on other things, is often difficult.  How do you overcome those fears and that overwhelming burden of the power that money has over you?

Can you?