Honest to god. John Edwards gets it. MY STORY!!!

[IsItJustMe]

I am a private person and I avoid the glare of the sunlight when it comes to my own life. But after reading the letter that Martin Luther King III wrote John Edwards today, I felt compelled to share my story with those of you here on DU. It may not change your vote, but it may change how you look at John Edwards.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4147131

I was raised in a rough neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago back in the late 60’s and early 70’s (around 76th and Ashland). My step dad was a drunk and he would disappear for weeks or days at a time. We were damn poor. My mom washed our clothes in the bathtub. My mom and I constantly kept vigilance to watch out for the landlord because our rent was always past due.

I remember constantly being picked on at school because I wore the same clothes over and over again. My mom made sure they were clean, but regardless, you know how kids that age can be. We ate beans and flower pancakes almost every night. That’s all we could afford. I had a one year old brother at the time and I remember my mom tearing up old towels to use for diapers.

I was about 10 years old, and I worked my ass off. I woke up every morning about 5AM to go deliver newspapers (The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Suntimes). After school, I would go up to 79th street to the Jewel Food store and ask people who were coming out of the store if I could carry their groceries for them. In exchange, they would tip me for whatever they thought it was worth.

Those were truly some very desperate times in my life.

When I look at John Edwards and hear him speak, I know that he knows. Don’t ask me for a link or to quantify my statement, because I can’t. I just know it from the very bottom of my heart and soul.

This man, John Edwards, has been around. He has seen things and has experienced things. He is no phony. When I hear him talk, something deep inside me is moved.

I, like Martin Luther King III, believe that John Edwards needs to stay in this race. He is adding depth, heart, and other intangible qualities to the debate. For those of you who do not understand it, I completely understand. We are truly the sum of our experiences.

Don’t buy into the msm bull shit and conventional wisdom, John Edwards is touching people in a very personal way, and his involvement in the primary can only be good.



PS I am sure there are some sad ass trolls and callused folk here that will poke fun of my story. I say go for it if that gets you to the light. After all, joy and pain are all intertwined in this thing we call life.

[redqueen]

1. Thank you for sharing your story...

I too come from a background of poverty. John is the candidate who most "gets it", that's how it seems to me as well.

:applause:

[sojourner]

2. thanks for your post.....sharing your story and reason for supporting Edwards

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. I feel he gets it too, and I come from the same place.

To this day, I HATE Potato soup.

K&R

[BanzaiBonnie]

17. split pea soup...

That was option 1. No option 2.

[OzarkDem]

24. When times were tough we ate fried rabbit and squirrel

Had our own garden, did canning and preserving. Mom sewed most of our clothes we handed down everything from coats to shoes to socks and swimsuits. For many years we only had one car, didn't take vacations or go to amusement parks. A big day was packing a picnic dinner and going to the state park, swimming in the rivers or lakes, going fishing. No bikes, no candy, treats or toys except Christmas or birthday.

My background was probably like Edwards. Starting in a lower-middle class working family, where you weren't doing well, but there were others around you at school or in your family who were doing even worse, so you felt lucky. Small house, run-down furniture, sleeping 2 or 3 kids to a full size bed. We thought we were doing fine.

In high school you couldn't afford a car, but worked for a scholarship to a state university - no Ivy League Schools for us. Our country and our economy allowed us to get an education and rise up in the world, to succeed beyond our parents dreams. Growing up in the 60's we went from the Baptist Church to Albert Schweitzer to MLK & Medgar Evers to RFK and beyond.

And what do we do now? Use our professional experience and connections to spend our time working helping those less fortunate, not from a sense of "noblesse oblige", or because its morally right, but also because we know poverty and ignorance are still around and the process of helping people get a good education and live a healthy and productive life is essential to our country's future. If we don't help people in the US maintain an adequate standard of living (and that's an ongoing struggle in a capitalist economy) we'll turn into another third world country. Its ingrained in our DNA from our ancestors - hard work, moving forward and improving your life and your community.

Edwards has been there, he gets it. Big Dog gets it, Hillary and Obama are outsiders to it. Lots of Dem elected officials have come from the same background. But not all of them remember it or act on it to benefit others. Some are ashamed of it. But Edwards gets it and I also trust him to do what he says.

[JDPriestly]

50. Woo! Could I tell stories about potato soup.

My mother's potato soup was the best.

[glowing]

4. Thank you for sharing your story..

I feel it too.. I don't think he's a phony. He also knows how to fight... and will. His campaign is not just a campaign for President, its a movement.. its a direction.. its people feeling inspired to fight again... and feeling inspired to breathe again... and feeling inspired to do more and do better for ourselves and our children and in this world. His policies are well thought out and easy to follow. The people you meet along the way are just as inspiring and just as dedicated in taking this country back from what has been soooo wrong for a long time.

[here_is_to_hope]

5. I'm with ya and so are more than

..a few people I know. Still struggling and working for peanuts.
Go Edwards!

[Andy823]

6. Good post

Edwards does get it. The sad thing is that this race has been hyped by the media as a two person race between the woman and the black man. Doesn't matter that Edwards has the best message because corporate america doesn't like the message! Corporate america is doing everything they can to keep Edwards from winning because they know he will do something about the problems in this country, and those problems have a lot to do with "corporate greed"!

Edwards has brought the "real" issues to the front, and he has made the other two face these issues. He has done more to shape this race than anyone, and he will continue to do so. He has my vote!

People need to take a strong look at "all" of the candidates, and then they should really ask themselves which one has a message that is for the people. Which one "will" stand up and fight for the people. Which one is not in the back pockets of corporate america. And most importantly, which one will keep his promise. I think Edwards is that person!

[LakeSamish706]

7. I love your story and thank you so much for sharing it... Here is my...

thread from last nite following the debate.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4148212&mesg_id=4148212

[Arkansas Granny]

8. I feel like he understands it too. He might not have lived as poor

as some of us did, myself included, but he was raised and grew up around poverty and has seen the effect it has on people and the communities in which they live.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. What John Edwards has seen.

I don't know much about John Edward's upbringing; if he was born poor, or if he had leg-ups to success. Don't know. But I do know this. Every lawyer, and I mean EVERY lawyer has read civil briefs. They know about the injustices that abound out there. They know about the silence that allows guilty clients to go free with a fraction of the punishment they deserve, but because that client can pay well, they get the results they come looking for. All lawyers have looked across the table and have seen the less fortunate get screwed over by the system. Or they have walked away with settlement agreements which they know means that their client's wrongdoing will hurt people who will never get the facts of the case because the information will be gagged.

Every lawyer. What makes Edwards different, is that he's using those experiences and is now going to do something about it. He has the intelligence to know that backroom machinations, and the people who pay dearly for them, are responsible for our lopsided world today; and Edwards has the conscience to give a damn and is willing to go the distance to change things to make them fairer.

[JDPriestly]

51. Amen.

I worked in products liability -- fork lifts and tortilla presses fill case after case.

[zalinda]

10. He speaks to me as well, he knows my story n/t

[mac56]

11. Thank you for your story.

K & R

[OneGrassRoot]

12. Thank you. n/t

[PATRICK]

13. Something big dawned on me

the real race this year, as badly corrupted and restricted as it systematically is is not the main show.

We, the people, are challenged to run for the title Citizen of the USA. We have to study, become experienced and explain why we should be allowed to have rights, have a voice in government and what our ideals are. We have to vote responsibly, dodging the barriers of lies, ignorance, vote suppression and count tampering. We have to do it together because if a majority of people do not run (vote) or win we lose the title to the King.

Our agenda. Our beliefs. Our character. Our hard work and smarts. If we don't run to the polls, the streets, the smaller representative campaigns, the news forums, we will at best become Citizens in name only- if that.

Any candidate who wishes to get behind OUR campaign and our declining chance to have a vote counted, our declining ability to share common, realistic and idealistic views might also be interested in other real world issues and rational priorities.

My campaign for citizen has begun by doing an exploratory consultation on these boards, talking with friends and co-workers, finding allies by working in the Mass(NY-29) campaign. I November I can wave the tiny little flag in my heart even in a sea of swastikas and take defeat as well as any $500,000,000 gone bust. I have this crazy ass ambition you see. To be in huge group of fellow humans winning the big one, democracy like we never ever had it before. There is no gridlock, no shared power, no triangulation as a compensation for partial victory.

In this divided blinded land it is all for one and one for all in the campaign for US citizenship. And a signal of utmost resistance to its polar opposite, slavery and death.

I am running for citizen and I like to presume all here are with me, SCOTUS POTUS rigging and horse race be damned. The candidate who puts us out front where we belong will always be the right candidate.
and winning alone has no self-justification or legitimacy or power like the honest citizen responding to the call of duty, adamant before injustice and tyranny.

[balantz]

14. self delete

message in wrong place

[IndyOp]

22. PATRICK SCORES! I think you've got it here...

I am running for citizen and I like to presume all here are with me, SCOTUS POTUS rigging and horse race be damned!

WE are the next President of the United States. We will not be denied, ignored, or patronized.

WE will remove our troops from Iraq --- all troops, no permanent military bases.

WE will restore unions -- our fellow citizens -- to their rightful place of power.

WE will have a revolution of green energy.

Word.

[PATRICK]

23. I like our platform

That wasn't so hard was it?

[LuckyLib]

34. Yes! My Dad always said, "Who the hell do you think the government it? It's US!

For so long, I've felt that my government has been hijacked. I want it back!

[Two Americas]

40. very inspiring

Thanks for the very inspiring post.

"Winning alone has no self-justification or legitimacy or power like the honest citizen responding to the call of duty, adamant before injustice and tyranny."

Very powerful. Well said.

We respond to the call, and we keep fighting no matter what happens in this or any election.

[OzarkDem]

76. You are so right

A great post, within another great post.

Democracy is hard, its not like picking the next winner on American Idol. I'm going to use your analogy when talking to others.

[asdjrocky]

15. Big K&R. Great story, and I'd love to shake your hand one day.

[balantz]

16. Thank you.

I too feel the truth of his words.

[peacetalksforall]

18. In November of 2004, my credibility meter told me he meant it when

he ssid that 'they' would keep fighting for the truth of the outcome (my words). Within a few hours Kerry said it's over. After three years, I still believe my truth meter was accurate - that Edwards meant it.

I am having to swallow with pain because I can't get over his vote for the war and the Patriot Act, but something tells me also that he gets it as you say, or can get it. Sometimes I have to settle somewhere if I can't get Gore, Feingold, Kucinich. Feingold - the ONLY Senator to vote against the Patriot Act. Now that is a reponsible citizen, a patriot.

Thanks for your story. Good luck!

[Seabiscuit]

19. Your story needed to be told. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Yes, Edwards is the only one who "gets it".

I went through an extended period of poverty myself, and I will also attest that Edwards is no phony.

[ChiciB1]

20. Thanks so Much For Sharing... I Came From A Military Family, But

there were lots of kids and we didn't have much, but I never felt poor. We had love, warmth and lots of fun.

But John Edwards knows what WE know, and it's IS A SHAME what is being done to him! But it REALLY is all about money and what it can buy. D.C. Elites and the rest of the corruption have "decided" that he too much of a threat to them, and he might just upset their "apple cart!"

How I wish I had a magic wand to WAKE SOME PEOPLE up! But I'm just one of you... and politics is CRUEL!!!

[Lugnut]

21. K&R n/t

[vanboggie]

25. Thank you for sharing your story

Kudos to your mother. She kept you fed and clothed and a roof over your head, and I can't imagine how difficult that was for her. It is apparent that she raised a darned good kid, too.

I agree with you that Edwards is the only one who gets it. I won't vote for any of the others. If Edwards isn't the nominee, I've given up on believing in the American people. If they don't vote for John, they are voting against their own interests ... again.

[mnhtnbb]

26. John Edwards is the real thing. The man has overcome

incredible odds, and lived through the loss of his first born child--his son--and is facing the mortality
of his life's love and partner.

He understands what's important. He is passionate about bringing true economic equality to Americans.

I have to believe the only reason people don't respond to his message is that they either haven't heard it, or don't give a damn about anyone but themselves.

Thanks for posting your story.

I hope to see some surprising results in SC.

[Klukie]

27. Hey...Thanks for your story..

I too have a story of poverty. My circumstances defined who I am today and even though I overcome the financial poverty, I still occasionally battle the emotional poverty. My upbringing made me who I am today and I am okay with that, but I always have felt that I could have been and done so much more. I also have to note that even though my circumstances have left me a proud bleeding heart, I have come across many folks with similar circumstances that have gone the other way. I call it the pull yourself up from the bootstrap mentality. My own brother, who lived right along side me has a completely different take on how to deal with poverty. He doesn't want to give anyone anything. I think he figures that he made it through, so everyone else should just suck it up and do the same. Very sad from my perspective(He is a Republican). John Edwards seems to get it. At the very least he gets the injustice of it and he is willing to fight against it. When he told the story of the mother from Cleveland during the debate, it really resonated with me. He has the message. No doubt about that.

[IsItJustMe]

28. Yes, for people who have lived in deep poverty there is emotional poverty. Make no mistake about it

I also have had to deal with that. But I can't complain. Went to college, married a great woman, had some wonderfully kids and at the end of the day, I have to say, I am better for the experience.

The way I feel about it is this, yes, it broke me in some ways. But when I broke, my heart was in the wide open position.

[AzDar]

29. K & R....

:kick:

[smokey nj]

30. K&R!!!!

[blue neen]

31. Our country sorely needs John Edwards to be our president.

Please America, wake up.

Thank you for sharing your story.

[stravu9]

32. Thank You So Much !

you rock and so does JOHN!

[shireen]

33. your experiences give you rare insight

into childhood poverty and abuse. For me, that makes your opinion all the more important. Thank you.

[rateyes]

35. Anyone who would poke fun at your story

isn't worth your time or energy. Thanks for your story, and your endorsement of a guy who "gets it" because he "lived it." He lived in the segregated South, and was as poor as a church mouse, and he knew there were others who had it worse than him because of the color of their skin.

He won't forget you.

[midnight]

36. This is a wonderful story of how well John Edwards speaks

to those of us who know struggle, and deserve the same rights, and resources that the rich do. Thank you for sharing your story.

[Tennessee Gal]

37. I voted for John yesterday in early voting.

I did it because I knew of so many stories similar to yours as I grew up in Tennessee. I did it because I am very close to the age of John Edwards and I know he experienced so much of what I did and what you have expressed here. I did it because I believe John Edwards is the only candidate running in 2008 who truly "gets it" when it comes to the horrendous economic and social issues facing my beloved America. I did it. I voted for John Edwards and I would do it ten millions times more if I could. I mean it.

[Tennessee Gal]

38. Kick.

[Skittles]

39. lovely story

I grew up one of six kids of an enlisted man and I tell people we lived frugally but we were not poor - to me, poor is when there are times you don't know when your next meal is and I never experienced that.

I wish I could get past John's co-sponsorship of IWR but it's hard for me as a USAF brat / veteran - I just cannot understand it or get past it. I do know Mr. Edwards is not a phony in regards to his caring about poverty, I do know that.

[MagickMuffin]

47. I wish you could get past his IWR bill........ Also ;=D

John has grown and accepted his mistake on the IWR. It always takes courage to own up to one's mistakes, especially if it has transformed them to the point they want to CORRECT their mistakes.

A lot of people were blind-sided by the Bush Regime/Cartel/Cabal, which includes the entire GOP base. A lot of soldiers sacrificed their lives based on what the Bush Regime/Cartel/Cabal used for their CHERRY PICKED INTELLIGENCE.

I'm just so glad John recognizes his past mistakes and wants to CORRECT the record.

[Skittles]

54. it's not enough to me that he admits it was a mistake

that is all too obvious - he has never explained to my satisfaction HOW he could have been fooled by such obvious bullshitters - to me it simply shredded his credibility

[MagickMuffin]

59. I can certainly understand your concern believe me,

however, everyone of the candidates has blood on their hands.

John Edwards seems to me to be the candidate who has grown the most. He has apologized for his mistakes. I have accepted his apology and want him to correct it by becoming president.

I also don't have ALL the knowledge I want/need concerning bills that were passed and the rethuglicons added provisions AFTER the bill had been voted on. I know this HAPPENED with the US Attorney scandal.

But how many more bills did this occur?.?.?

[Skittles]

62. as long as people continue dying he has blood on his hands

and I detest anyone who was stupid and or criminal enough to support that decision - it is disgusting beyond belief.

[MagickMuffin]

64. Excuse me, but I have NEVER supported ANY decision for this WAR

direct your anger somewhere else, but DO NOT direct it at ME.

[Skittles]

65. I was not implying you, but some of the other candidates

(and all those f'n repukes) *sheesh*

[MagickMuffin]

67. Fair E'nuff, with all the animosity around here these days it hard to tell sometimes

If you know what I mean.

I suppose all our candidates found out "WE the PEOPLE" were pissed off about Iraq, and their direct involvement in going along with the charade. Not addressing the American people about HOW we got there, almost without even a word about 9-11 and Iraq posing an imminent threat.

This country hasn't seen real leadership in an awful long long time.

[Skittles]

68. you got that right

that's another issue - IF they were "misled" and "lied to" and fell for it - WTF - they should all be calling for impeachement - where the F*** is the accountability? An apology is simply NOT enough.

[earth mom]

73. 911 fooled a LOT of us. I fell for their crap hook line and sinker.

Except that I didn't want a war with Iraq.

But I did I want the "bad guy terrorists" punished. Gawd, I was naive! It took me a couple of years to wake up and when I did I was furious. :grr:

I KNOW beyond a doubt that 911 was MIHOP or LIHOP so * & Co could jump start the war in Iraq.

No doubt Edwards was fooled too. Now he wants to fix it and I applaud him for that. :applause:

[Plucketeer]

95. I think it's fair to say.....

.... that 9/11 didn't FOOL so many of us as it caught us off guard. And there's a difference. To be fooled, you have to BE looking at something and have it hoodwink you EVEN THO you're looking right at it.
To be "caught off guard", you're NOT expecting what just up and WHACKS you up the side of your head when you had NO CLUE such an incident was in the offing! In a scenario like that, I think we're all likely to dive away (OR just instantly slap back) and require a bit to compose ourselves and assess the situation. Sure, given a moment to reflect, you might well decide you shoulda been lookin' for that to happen. On the other hand, you might conclude that there's no way you could have had an inkling of what was about to strike.

Personally, I think that *&Co. were aware of the impending conflict and factored that into their plans to grab for the loot that was Iraq's oil bonanza. I still think that's what Chimpy was musing about after having had one of his handlers whisper in his ear that we were under attack. He was in awe that Cheney had called it and that their devious plot was under way.

When you factor in that true heros of our nation (like Colin Powell) were taking AND ENHANCING the bait as well...... alot of our congressional reps need to be cut slack about their signing on to "get the baddies!".

[CanyonWren]

41. Teriffic post

Thank you for sharing your very personal story. Please consider posting this on Daily Kos, I think it would be well received.

[Libby2]

42. Thank you for sharing your story.

I was also very poor as a child, and John does get it.

[JuniperLea]

43. Beans and pancakes! We called them "Hobo Hamburgers"!

And once in a while they actually had some meat in them:) My great-granny used to feed them to the Hobo's... and my mom fed them to us... we didn't realize how poor we were until we grew up and had kids of our own. Thanks for sharing your story. It's good to commiserate and find hope together.

I've been all giddy about MLK III's letter to Edwards! Speaks volumes, doesn't it?

[JDPriestly]

52. Don't forget macaroni and cheese.

[JuniperLea]

93. Great Granny also got the senior food hand outs...

Macaroni and cheese was big on the list! Huge chunks of cheese we'd whittle down into smaller chunks and wrap tightly for fridge storage. Huge bags of macaroni we'd divide up into large canning jars. (Those jars were used over and over again.) She received peanut butter too... pretzels with a little cup of peanut butter was a special treat.

Thanks for the memories:) Without all that money clouding our view, we were free to see the love;)

[Gloria]

44. Thanks for sharing this...

[stravu9]

45. great post

HIP, HIP HOORAY!

[K Gardner]

46. K&R. Thank you for sharing this beautiful and personal story.

[Mira]

48. When you're understood, it's like a blood kinship. And Edwards understands.

As a child, the oldest of 7, many days my job was to sort the potatoes in size. One to a person,the rest of the dinner would be back yard grown lettuce. The recipient's physical size determined who got the larger potato.

My Dad, a Methodist minister, raised chickens in the back yard to make ends meet, and I had to go to the meadows in the village and hand rip grass to fill grocery sacks before the school bus picked me up at 7.
That's what the chickens ate.

After school I had to take the bus to the next town and sell the eggs door to door. I was no more than about 9-11.

This happened in Germany, early 50s.

Feeling understood about poverty, I hope Edwards really means it to bring about understanding and change.
He was my Senator, when he was a Senator, and I felt "misrepresented" because the minute he got the job he started running for higher office, and it was obvious.

Yet, I have gotten over that as I see him as one of the three choices now, and I support him to the best of my ability.

[JDPriestly]

49. I'm with you.

I had my first job where I was paid by people outside my family at 7 -- delivering cards to people's houses for a 5 & 10 store. I started babysitting for people outside my family when I was 10 -- and my first "baby" really was a baby -- less than three months old.

I immediately "grew" my babysitting business. When I was 14, I got my Social Security card and a summer job at a child day care center. I worked throughout college and on and on. John Edwards knows my story too. I also back John Edwards 100%.

[MagickMuffin]

53. IsItJustMe, I admire the courage it took to express your upbringing, it inspired me to share ;=)

While I guess I didn't exactly live in poverty per se, I did grow up as a lower middle class family. Father was a second generation carpenter, which means work was seasonal. My father didn't grow up with much money, he worked alongside his father until the time came to pass the torch to the next generation of Custom Home Builders. Granpappy worked alongside his son until he was able to anymore. Everyone in our family worked on building houses, myself included. I helped build from a very early age until I left home, and eventually worked for a REAL paycheck later in life.

I am five of seven, girl, boy, boy, girl, me, boy boy. I grew up to be the "lil-housewife" I performed the tasks of cooking meals and washing the dishes afterwards, cleaning house, washing and drying ALL the dirty laundry, and other chores.

The summer during transition from 4th/5th grade, my family moved to 12 acres not very far from where we were living, but a new school district, and having to ride a bus to school. I used to walk to school before we moved.

We leased the property from one of my father's sub-contractor. We built a house to live in which was surrounded by huge Pecan trees (( man, how I LOVED to climb those trees )) there was already had a barn, then we bought a Jersey milk cow, chickens, pigs, horses, and a wonderful garden. I didn't like having to get up early to hoe, but damn the benefits of having fresh vegetables, corn, black-eyed peas, green beans, potatoes, okra, squash, and TOMATOES :loveya: We canned and froze our produce for those especially lean times.



Thank you for having the courage to speak from your heart and encouraging others here to share their stories.:pals:

I think John Edwards has seen his share of hardships on people like yourself, myself and millions of other Americans as well. I think he would be the most effective leader we could have for this upcoming battle after the election in November.

[Yuugal]

55. My mom had a way with meatloaf

To this day I still love it with more bread than meat in it. Awesome post.

[Hawkowl]

56. I have a similar story

And I think you hit the nail on the head when you identify it as a gut feeling that Edwards simply knows what it's like and he will do something.

[cynthia]

57. thank you for sharing your story

John Edwards has touched so many people because he is sincere. He deserves our support all the way to the convention and general election

[Dystopian]

58. Heartfelt thanks.

I, too, believe in John.
I felt your words.


*After all, joy and pain are all intertwined in this thing we call life.*


peace~

[DiverDave]

60. My mom waited tables at a truckstop

raised 4 kids with the help of my granny and papaw.
We didnt have alot, well really, nothing...

If you have to explain it to someone, they wouldnt get it.


To this day, if the fridge or cupboards look bare, I get nervous and go out and buy food.
even if there is plenty until shopping day.

Mom just died in November, and I sure miss her.

I think JE gets me too...

[stravu9]

61. go John suppoters!

don't deign to answer all the attack posts .
it just perpetuates them .
do like John , keep positive and on point.
they want nastiness, don't drink the kool aid!
let them wallow in their own filth!
they seem to enjoy it!


be better than the rest, GO JOHN!

[AP]

63. I was raised by a single parent and lived in literally the cheapest housing in what I thought

was an upper class community, but later, in college, when I met rich kids, realized was just a middle class community, so that I could at least go to a half-decent public school. Man, the struggles I saw my mother endure and the sacrifices she made to give her kids a chance!

When I hear JRE talk, I know that he knows better than any of the candidates what that struggle was like.

[Biscottiii]

66. Thanks for Sharing! I too feel that Edwards is honest and Gets Us!

Grew up poor too. Five of us kids and I was the 'Chosen One' with all of the medical issues. Several ear surgeries and a spinal fusion, no medical insurance. Dad was a grocery clerk and Mom a stay at home Mom. Can I repeat? No Medical Insurance, they had no money to buy it!

Mom ironed for hire and baked bread for the Surgeons' wives. 3-cents a shirt, 5-cents a sheet. Mom paid off those surgeries nickel by nickel. These days I'm sure that Doctors wouldn't be as willing to barter for services. I have medical insurance 50 years later, but it's been skyrocketing, $653 per month off the top of the pension - after the taxes. Endless denials of coverage, more co-pays, less pharmacy payments. So, John Edwards was the FIRST to really look at and make proposals that Obama and Clinton later tried to emulate. With so much of the insurance/pharmacy paying Clinton's campaign, I CANNOT believe that they wouldn't expect kickbacks if she should get elected. The American Public could look forward to getting financially wrung out even MORE to dry! Plus, he was right in that last debate. One can't keep offering pie-in-the-sky proposals W/O saying how you intend to pay for them.

Yes, Edwards DOES get it! He's made mistakes and admitted them and learned from them. The others O/H may have made mistakes but they sure ain't 'fessing up. We NEED Edwards to take back our country! I'm truly afraid that if he doesn't get the nomination we may easily find ourselves with another 4/8 years ruled by another Republican Regime. Not sure this country can afford that possibility.

[FirstLight]

69. I am the single mom poster child of modern times...

I was abandoned at 22 by my 'husband' (yes, we were young and stupid, but is it my fault I believed in true love?) I was 8 mos pregnant when he left. I had to start over, go back to college, raise a child when I didn't even babysit as a teen... if it wasn't for my parents...who were just middle class folks who worked hard and saved their butts off...I would never have made it. I was on welfare for 4 years during the "welfare reform" movement..which was very scary, because the clock was always ticking for me to get my act together. I graduated with my 2 yr AA degree in 4 years, and tried to get on my feet time and time again. I was off of assistance, but always just a thread away from falling into the pit again...

fast forward 10 years, age 32...got remarried, had another baby. The picture of our perfect family was complete - until my husband startd acting strangely, red flags I "should have seen" became a hell that goes beyond these words..
another pregnancy from spousal rape, abuse, fleeing for our lives with a really disturbed 12 year old, 2 yr old and a 7 month old baby... and back on welfare again. Having to testify, having to get HUD assistance (without this, we would be living in our car in the sierra snow)...and STILL struggling to get to the point where I am not living from hand to mouth.
And it has been four years and Much therapy since we left... but though our hearts are healing, I am still just a breath away from abject poverty.
Now I find last year that my daughter has a birth defect, (blind in one eye, endocrine issues and a cyst in her brain)we are on medi-CAL, so our choices are limited...and I am resorting to my faith to help us , because honestly, it is all I have left. And my church has stepped in and helped us with groceries more often than I'd like to admit...And I just lost HALF my income because my ex husband decided to quit his job and hide ...again...so I am trying to figure out how to pay rent next month.

John Edwards is the ONLY candidate I think will really make changes to our economy, and directly effect MY plight, and so many like me. January 2009 can't come fast enough!!

And even though I KNOW there are so many that are worse off than me, I still can't help but worry for ALL of us, if the wrong person takes the helm of this country... I wonder what we have to look forward to if the poor in AMERICA are left behind?

[eShirl]

82. k&r

:grouphug:

[shaniqua6392]

70. "We are truly the sum of our experiences".

Beautiful. John Edwards does seem to understand those of us who have been truly poor. Thank you for sharing your story!!

[Mithreal]

71. I really liked that "joy and pain are all intertwined" and appreciated

your story.

I delivered the Detroit Free Press with my dad when I was a kid during times when his full time job cut back on hours, pretty regularly, even then when the auto industry was still strong, and as a teenager through high school on my own, definitely 5AM or earlier, I remember. Luckily I never experienced life so close to the basics but after working over a year at a shelter I knew the poor and knew they were no different than me with a few notable exceptions. I get Edwards. I can see his message is more for every one of us. Anyway, heartfelt thanks : )

[earth mom]

72. Thanks for sharing your story. We weren't poor, but were working class.

Dad worked with his hands as a mechanic and painter. Mom worked on and off as a receptionist and secretary. I remember having one pair of shoes for the entire year of school. We never went out to dinner and only went camping when my parents could afford it. I loved books passionately, but did not own one book of my own. Everything came from the library. Worked my first job at 16 and rode my bike to and from even at night in the rain. I remember stories of my dad having to work when he was 12 or 13 delivering papers in shoes that were way too small and felt so sad for him. Life has NOT been easy as an adult-my dh and I lived for years as the working poor up to about 3 years ago. Even with a pay raise, we are still playing catch up and the rising price of everything has canceled much of that pay raise away. So, I've gotten creative-not for the first time-and have cobbled together a little something to sell on ebay. Going okay for now-but no guarantees.

I think people have forgotten what it used to be like. Credit cards have given people a better life than they otherwise would have had. That bubble is crashing and people are in for a rude awakening.

Edwards knows what it's like to have to tough it out. We need someone who understands that more than ever right now.

[sendero]

74. Thank you.

.... for that story.

I grew up in similar circumstances, not quite as dire as yours but bad enough to color my life anyway.

I'm with Edwards.

[noel711]

75. I grew up a southsider too...

I couldn't wait to work hard, and move away. But now I look back at those days
with fondness,a sense that life could never be better. There was a sense of hope then,
that if anyone worked hard, there were always possibilities.

Those days also instilled in us a sense of 'street smarts' where we could assess if
a 'big talker' was telling the truth, or trying to 'con' us. And that's necessary
in politics if you live in Chicago. That's why this mess coming from the Clintons
is simply politics as usual, and why John Edwards resonates with many of us.
I see through the Bill and Hillary show for what it is: bullying.

Sadly, we were voiceless then, and so many of us feel voiceless now. Too many
of my peers are simply sheep, supporting the tsunami of clinton inevidability,
doing anything in order to win. But that sets us up for at least four years of the
same shrill yelling, the bitter partisonship, more prevarication, and the possibility
of a divided electorate: a black community divided between the Obama and Clinton camps,
disenfranchised working class and poor communities, and fat cats growing fatter.

[IsItJustMe]

79. There is a song by Jim Croce that kind of sums up growing up on the South Side of Chicago for me,

In the song, "Lovers Cross", the lyrics goes like this:

I learned alot of lesson awfully quick, and now I am telling you, they were not the nice kind ..."

But none-the-less, they were lessons, and like you said, those lessons did include the ability to discern bull sh!t, when it was being fed to you.

On Edit: I think the politically correct way of putting that would be, I developed critical thinking abilities, thats for sure.

[MrsBrady]

77. go edwards!!! n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

78. I share your instinct that Edwards truly understands..and knows in his heart where the real

struggles are, and that he would have the will and the ability to help.

[beezlebum]

80. K

& wishing i could R (new member)

:cry: :hug:

:kick:

[lisainmilo]

81. THANK YOU FOR SHARING

:hug:

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

83. I grew up in the same neighborhood at about the same time.

My circumstances were not as bad as yours, my father worked for the City and my mother was a school clerk in the CPS, but I had friends who who were not as fortunate as my sister and brothers and myself were.

My father and mother instilled in me this: "there but for the grace of God, go I" and "don't ever forget where you came from".

I also think John Edwards gets it and that's why I'm voting for him in the Illinois primary.

[IsItJustMe]

88. Always good to talk with another South sider. I have lived all over this country since then, but

those early childhood memories have never left me. For better or worst, in the end, it's all good. How could it be otherwise?

:toast:

[IsItJustMe]

89. duplicate

[Iwillnevergiveup]

84. Totally agree, Isitjustme

And your story totally resonated with me because I taught at an elementary school at 76th and Halstead in the 70's. I so vividly recall the drive from Rogers Park (north Chicago) to the South Side - the most purposely segregated city I've ever seen.

John Edwards does totally get this, and I proudly support him. And you.

Rrrrrrrecommended!

[SammyWinstonJack]

85. K&R!

:thumbsup:

[frogmarch]

86. A big K&R! nt

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

87. I don't poke fun at your story

in a way, it's a lot like mine growing up, but I was the younger sibling, not the older one. My brother worked two paper routes from the time he was 9 years old. I would go around and collect soda pop bottles and turn them in for deposit (this was the 1950s). We were lucky in that my mom's folks took us in after my father left, taking all the money and leaving debts behind (back then, a man could get a loan on household goods without telling the wife, which is what he did; mom couldn't pay the loan off and we lost all her furniture). We lived in a dank basement until I got pneumonia and nearly died (still have to watch the lungs today). Mom was lucky in that she could get part time work and go back to school to get a teaching degree. Brother worked for Jewell Tea after a couple of years and was the youngest assistant produce manager they had (at age 16). Grandma sewed my dresses out of feed sacks. Guess because of the way I was raised, things don't matter as much as character and what you do to help others. Edwards has my admiration.

[IsItJustMe]

94. My "PS" remarks were made in an effort to head off ignorant replys. I know DU well enough to know

that the vast majority of replys would be descent and on the mark. But as you know, we are now in the heat of the primary season, and you can see some pretty ignorant things that can be posted here. That is the price you pay in having an open forum like this. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[flasoapbox]

90. K&R

He may be filty rich now, but at least the guy gets it; he's experienced
poverty first hand.

[lumberjack_jeff]

91. No ridicule from me. I suspect many of us have similar stories.

I can remember living with mom in the LA projects and hiding from the rent collector too.

Thankfully, my life today (and that of my kids) is a lot different than those humble beginnings.

Edwards does indeed get it.

[Sequoia]

92. I would never poke fun at your story because I know what you mean.

I grew up poor in NC but didn't know that we were. I thought we were better off than our cousins because we had plumbing and they had out-houses. The house were my dad grew up had a creek where his sisters drew water and hauled it back to the house. I can remember having a bath in those old wash tubs. At our house I remember another aunt holding my feet to a little black stove and me wearing dark green socks. To this day I'm a sock horder and have one drawer full of socks. When I go by the "Sock" store it's just fun to look at all the socks I could have. I never could get into the style of the 1980s of not wearing socks with shoes when I went to work like some of the guys did. Of course, being a female stockings were what we wore, but when I wore pants, socks, socks socks! I remember eating pancakes on Sunday nights and watching Bonaza and us kids thinking what a treat that was. Years later our mom said it was because we had no money for anything else. We had a little parakeet that died because he didn't have food and the day our dad got paid he bought bird food but the bird was lying on the bottom of the cage the morning he got his graveyard shift. Finally, with our mom in the hospital and dad at his wits end he put us four oldest in a kids home where, though we got lots of religion, we had 3 square meals a day and a warm bed to sleep in. For years we resented that but as I got older I realized he made the right, if saddening, decision. Now that I have a child of my own I see what trouble they went through but now it's too late to thank them because they both died. So yeah, Edwards has a lot going for him.

With you, life was so much harder and living in cold Chicago and going through that I have to give you a hug for hanging in there and not giving up.

[mntleo2]

96. Nobody BETTER Laugh At Your Story

... because there are too many people like us who know better and won't let them.

I was raised blue collar class with a working alcoholic father and a mother who did not drink but stuck with him, thus I believe she saved us from utter poverty, but my adult life has not gone so well. As a parent of three boys and now my 2 year old grandniece, I have worked my butt off for over 35 years in McJobs that left me with nothing ...no home of my own, no retirement, no nothing. I never had a drinking or drug problem nor did I have any other fund spending problem, so this was not why I was always broke. I was broke because I was not paid a livable wage. End of story.

That toil DID leave my body broken and with on the job injuries that no employer is going to claim, so I am unable to work now. Most places I worked for over 5 years and my last employer, a large university, actually harassed and then fired me for having injuries from the work they required ~ after 10 years of work where they gave me nothing but great evaluations. I was a single mother by then and it plunged us into poverty that at times left my children and I on the street while I was working full time and going to school.

It taught me a few things:
1. It is a myth that hard work gets you somewhere. It doesn't. Hard work does not matter, it does nothing to lift you out of poverty

2. If you get an education, get it early in your life, because if you try to get degrees after the age of 40, you are still screwed

3. Your hard work is not an example for your children. My son told me once when I had to work rather than attend a baseball game where he was playing that he could make more on the street in a day than I did in a month in my raggedy old job. What it DID teach them was that, no matter how hard you work, what part of your soul you give, or what ends you go to to keep your job, still leaves you cold, hungry and sometimes without a home as well as without a job. So much for teaching the kids that hard work pays off.

4. At least until they are grown if then, your children do not appreciate your working so hard, they resent it and often get into a lot of trouble in their teens because they are furious at you for not giving them what their friends have. I lost two jobs because of all the lost time going to the juvenile hall and courts. I was working and not home to keep the kids in check (no daycare or much else for kids over the age of 11, so when you are gone, they are unsupervised).

5. Working for companies is not family, even though you have to neglect your family in order to work for them. If their bottom line interferes with yours, guess who goes and guess who could give a rat's rear?

6. In the meantime the message you give to your kids is that they do not matter as much as the almighty company you work for. They come last.

7. Because if your children are sick and running a temp, they better get to school because they are not as important and do not need you as much as that psycho boss you have who demands you not be a minute late for work, that you work overtime if they want you (and find every way in the book not to pay you overtime if they can), that you stay silent when she/he goes on the war paths over trivial things, oh and that you BETTER smile while you endure it. Then when you get home and are too exhausted to help your kids with their homework, well it is all your fault they failed in school.

8. If your kids are in the school play and you have to work, guess who gets your time?

9. Sick, exhausted, in grief, you still have no excuse to get to work even if your car breaks down. If it breaks down well too bad, you BETTER figure it out within the 8 hours you have left before the next shift how to get yourself to work and your kids to school and/or daycare, along with figuring out how to pick them up because it is miles away from where you live or work and twice as expensive, but the only daycare that takes kids during odd hours. Because you can barely afford the rent and childcare much less car repairs and the last mechanic took every dime you have and only fixed one thing and did not mention the other problems coming soon. They know you will be back soon, checkbook open and pen ready ...

10. There is no bus services (that adds on three hours of commuting time anyways) for your McJob times (most McJobs are odd hours), so you have to drive a beater car that is three times more expensive ~ but does save what precious little "free" time you have.

I have learned a lot more but the most important thing I have learned that I wish even feminists seem to miss is that: raising kids is a full time job worthy of our community support , kids deserve a full time parent. After all you are raising the next generation to fight in your wars, run your communities, take care of us when we are old, and pay our social security and Medicare as we did for the generation before us.

About the only candidate who does get it, John Edwards, knows of what we speak and I am supporting him too for the same reasons many of you are!

Cat In Seattle

My 2 cents

[Plucketeer]

97. Looking back

I realize how LITTLE my folks had when I was a wee one. We lived in a rickety apartment over my grandparent's garage. But in the first few years of your life, what do you know of what your living standards are? If your belly's happy, your bed's warm and you're not being abused....
At age 5, my folks managed to buy a shack (and "Shack" is about as nice a description as you can use about that box) on an acre of weeds. Again tho - I had a bed of my own, food enough to grow on and parents that cared. I have one tiny black & white photo of that shack - and it's a pathetic-lookin' place, believe me. But it was home and I thrived there.
My dad dutifully went off to his workaday job each morning and on Thrusdays he handed my mom a check to keep our abode solvent.
My folks worked hard - played by the rules - and tried to instill upon me - right from wrong. I never sensed any real hardships in our daily life, although I'm sure my folks worried about this 'n that thru the years. But myself and my sister never felt like we were "doing without" and I wasn't aware of those who had more than us until my later teen years.
My folks always had a used car until their twilight years. Only a couple of years before his passing did my dad know what it's like to have a new one - and at that it was a cheapie. He put in 33 years at a paint factory and that played a part in his health, I'm sure. He and his lunch box REEKED of paint and solvents every day when he came home. This was well before there was any OSHA or industry safety regs to protect workers in such an environment.
My dad passed on almost 4 years ago. My mom was starting to get physically frail and after a time she had to sell her home of 55 years because she could no longer function therein. What she's done since that time has proven expensive and the money's about expended. Hopefully, she'll be able to stay in the facility she's currently living in, but her health care costs have sopped up any shred of self-reliance she might have known if escalating costs of health/elder care weren't skyrocketing out of sight.
Federally administrated universal health care is as far away as a signature on a piece of paper - and yet we have TWO Dem hopefuls that wanna enlist the very cause of this healthcare debacle as an integral part of the fix. (!)
One hopeful says we CAN have that universal health care - for ALL of us - and his reasoning is based on his having been immersed in the strata that's now taking a beating by health costs. Hell, his folks had to BORROW money to pay the hospital off so he could come home after his birth!

The way I see it at the moment - with the shift towards an emphasis on our stumbling economy - imagine what sort of "stimulus" would be effected upon folks monetary welfare if they didn't have to contend with OUTRAGEOUS health care and health care insurance costs!!!
Sure - we'd all chip in to fund it, but there'd be no cash-gulping, credit-killing emergencies to wipe out a middle class family's life. We could proceed with our lives without cringing in fear of a toothache or a broken collar bone and what it would do to our bank accounts.
The well-to-do (and our representatives) aren't worried about such right now. Health-care-wise, they're set! Of course, we'll give them MORE tax breaks in the hopes they'll drop some change for us to scramble after! But will they chip in if they hear we're being wiped out by an appendix attack or a infection? Hmmmmmmmm.... I don't think so.

The fix for health care AND a possible instant economic stimulus is being proposed by the one and only Dem candidate that still has a chance at being nominated. A person who's initial medical bill was answered by a LOAN! Tell me that that kind of experience doesn't afford you a point of perspective with substance!
The health care INDUSTRY (and make no mistake about it - it IS an industry) lives in fear of John Edwards because he proposes cutting them off from their GROSSLY disgusting profits. Profits that work to let America's DIE and SUFFER because there's nothing in their pockets for the medical pirates to plunder!

Rant finished: :rant:

[SammyWinstonJack]

98. Great rant!

:hug: I grew up in a blue collar family. There were six of us. If not for overtime pay(Go Unions!) from two parents working, I doubt we would have made it as well as we did. We kids kept up with the household chores while our parents worked at their factory jobs.

[Plucketeer]

99. Since I can't edit my rant

I want to add that only in reading it once again, I realize that I left out a word. That last sentence should have the word "poor" after the word "America's". :( Missed that one! :(