In 1989, I knew that the gas station nearby had loaves of bread for a quarter, the Aldi was fifty cents, and while their bread was better, they were also a bus ride away. More than once, I scrounged coins around the apartment in order to walk down to a further away gas station and buy a couple of loosies. We didn't have a phone. We had a 13" black and white TV with rabbit ears. I stole. Friends stole for me. I slept all day and was awake all night, going to one hangout or another where there was likely to be some pizza. I would pop loose popcorn and throw it in a paper grocery bag to take out into the world with me.

Even then, I wasn't really "broke," because I was at college, and when push came to shove, I had a little bit of family that I could return to. There was always a light at the end of the tunnel, and I knew it.