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out to the storage shed, now converted into a small barn, must be shoveled out by hand. Snow blowers stand idle next to cars no longer driven in garages all across America. There was a big storm last night, and dad wants to get to the barn to feed the chickens. He steps out into the bright , crisp morning and starts to shovel. The chickens hear him and cluck with excitement. Dad just smiles and shakes his head. He used to be a well paid accountant, and now he is a part time farmer of sorts. He worked hard to provide his family with the best, and it was a bright day when they moved into an upper class subdivision, where it was against the rules to even have a clothesline. Now that same subdivision is dotted with makeshift mini barns and coops, and they all harbor a variety of chickens. Privately, dad enjoys this simple way of life, wishing it could have happened under different circumstances.

Now it is noon and the family gathers around the kitchen table for a meal of beans and rice. The children dream about Mc Donalds, and so do mom and dad, but fast food is a thing of the past, along with restaurants. All these places went out of business a long time ago. Every morsel of food the family eats is prepared by mom or dad. Mom worries once again about her children's health, thinking they look thin and drawn, however the children seem to be happy. They chat about the movie they want to watch this evening . Like children everywhere, they enjoy the closeness of family life. Because there is no form of personal transportation, the family spends almost all their time in each other's company. For the people that do have a job, many times it is a job that is performed online. However, most people do not work, and are dependent upon government food programs. When dad works on the government farm come spring, he will not come home every night like he used to. He must walk to the train station, then catch the train which will take him to the farm. He will live there in a barracks, coming home once a week, bringing home precious items that his family would otherwise have no way of getting. Soap and cleaning supplies along with shoes and clothing is what he hopes to attain this coming year through the barter of the extra food and chicken feed he will earn on the farm.

Mom clears away the lunch dishes and sighs, she misses common place things like dish detergent and toilet paper and worries once again over the unsanitary conditions the family is forced to live under. Rumors

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