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Evicted, On the Edge of Homelessness.
The return of Tom Joad
I arrived in Sarasota some time ago, on a pastel sunny day, when it was nearly 80 degrees, and the deep green palm leaves on the trees slowly rippling in the lazy breeze. At the end of my rope, after a nightmare year of pandemic and lockdown, I was offered a place to stay in the hopes of getting back on my feet. So I came to Sarasota.
After the slow bore of quarantine and a negative test, my host took me for a ride-around Sarasota. We saw some of the interesting architecture and the great big homes of the ostensibly wealthy. We saw numerous billboards for personal injury attorneys. We went to a beach with white sand and warm water. We saw thrift shop after thrift shop. We saw businesses for reclaimed architecture. I was shown some of the new construction. We saw a lot of homeless people. We watched the sunset and went to get a meal. Driving home we passed several apartment buildings, all dark. I assumed they were new construction not yet occupied. So much construction.
The day after the ride, equally sunny but less breezy than the day I arrived, I went for a long walk. Sarasota is flat, which is different from the city on a hillside from which I was evicted by the pandemic. I walked by construction just starting. I passed new construction being completed. I passed by row upon row of apartment buildings. It…
