A Sad State of Affairs

I often have to make an early morning trip to WalMart.  Usually it is because I need to purchase some sort of supply/supplies for my classroom.  (That's right...teachers spend money out of their own pockets to provide supplies for their students.)  Today, was a WalMart morning...and I left with my supplies...as well as a broken heart.  I arrived just before 7am...right as the new shift of workers was clocking in and the night crew was clocking out.  As I pulled into the parking lot alongside the employees, I was deeply saddened by what I saw.  Each and every one of the employees coming to work was a senior adult. One in particular had to park in a handicapped space and was so hunched over that she could hardly walk...lunchbox  and pocketbook in tow.  We both entered the store at the same time, and she immediately got a cart, placed her items inside, and held on to it as she walked to the back of the store so that she could punch in.  I am heartbroken by the fact that a woman in her stage of life has to work at all.  The senior adults in our country have fought in wars, worked for decades, rasied families, paid taxes, and contributed to social security.  The very least we can do is make sure that their basic needs are met.  Perhaps she is working because she wants to...more power to her...but I seriously doubt that is the case.  There must come a day in this nation where we acknowledge the financial mistakes we have made, determine to correct them, and commit to righting those wrongs.  Do I know how to do that? Not really...but I believe that there are people in Washington who can and will figure it out.  However, I can't imagine that the same principles each of us are called to live by would not apply there as well: don't spend more than you have, and pay your debts.