bent, not broken

i've started a photo column that are images stemming from the wake of the recession.

Here's the picture and Carolyn's story.

Carolyn Goodman wipes a tear away with
one hand and cradles the phone in her other.

“The only thing I hate to ask you is...” Carolyn
trails off then adds, “We're really low with gas
money. We're on a half a tank, and we have to
get back to the shed.”

She pauses, then asks humbly, “Is there anyway
you can help us?”The hum of a hotel heater
grinds the silence. After a few moments, she sighs in relief.

“I appreciate it.” She fingers the telephone cord.
“So, you'll call me sometime? Tomorrow? OK.
You too. God bless,” she says and then hangs up.

Carolyn is sharing a Virginia Beach hotel room with
her husband and daughter. Financial problems have
dogged them for awhile, but they thought things were looking up.

Her husband had a job and they were saving what they could.
However, he recently lost his job and unpaid bills mounted up.

Now, they're selling their possessions to pay for the hotel,
which is the only kind of housing they can afford, while
her husband looks for work. “I'm hoping we can get out
items to an auction in Chesapeake, that's our last ditch
effort to get some money – but it's hard getting rid of stuff.”

“Right now everything is tight. We're not sure if we're
going to have enough money for next week,” says Carolyn.

“I'm a fighter, I'm not going to shed tears. We're going to beat this.”