Five or six years ago, the parking lot at the food shelf was filled with crappy cars. Beaters with coat hanger antennas, bashed bumpers, doors held closed with bungee cords. There would be a couple nice cars in the lot, and they stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb.
2011, the ratio has flipflopped. There are a lot more nice cars in the lot than lousy ones. The people getting out of the cars have a shell-shocked look, and it's clear that for most of them, that nice vehicle is the only asset they have left -- and it makes no sense to trade in a good vehicle with a lot of miles left in it for a cheap car and one or two months of bills that would soon leave you broke and without reliable transportation.
Thanks for the repost!