was the day you grew up. yeah. that s how i think of it. so, we lost the car. the bills were piled up. and one day i go upstairs and i hear my mother in her bedroom and i walked in and her best black dress was laid out on the bed and i thought at first who died? you know, she wore that dress for 15 years. for funerals and weddings, i guess. i was puzzled. when you look at your mother, you know when you ve asked enough questions. she s crying and rubbing her eyes until they are fierce red and finally she reaches down to pull this dress on and she starts pulling it across her shoulders and down over her hips and it s too tight. and so she is still crying and she starts working that side zipper up and holds her breath and finally gets to it the top. pulls on her high heels, turns
starts pulling it across her shoulders and over her hips. and it s too tight. and so gets it on and she s still trying. and she starts working that side zipper up and holds her breath. he finally gets it to the top. pulls on her heels and turns around everyone looks at me. and she says how do i look. i was 12. almost as tall as she was. and i looked her straight back in the eye and i said you look great. really. and she walked out the door, applied for a minimum wage job at sears and got it. it was enough to save our home. and we made it on through. how did that how does that experience, the fact that you were raised on the ragged edge of the middle class as you say, how did that impact you in 2008,