10,000 Words Part 85: Before

None of us can remember exactly how it was. Some of us can recall worrying about paying bills, getting enough to eat, finding shelter. We cannot remember what that fear felt like, but we do not believe it was pleasant. Today, those who do not work hard lose their jobs, of course. They may then become poor, unable to buy food or heat their home, which will eventually be taken from them to house a useful citizen. Sooner or later they die. But there are workers assigned to clear away the dead every morning. Everything is so much better now.