Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Tent City reminds of Depression

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, July 5, 2001 | 8:19 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Reach her at deskin@ lasvegassun.com.

There are some things we would just as soon sweep under the rug.

The plight of the homeless in Las Vegas has been highlighted by recent stories and graphic pictures of the forced removal of street people from an area familiarly known as Tent City.

Ragtag shelters built from old cardboard boxes, pieces of tin, abandoned shopping carts, torn blankets, sagging mattresses and any object that could be utilized were torn down. What could be salvaged was carted away as bulldozers leveled what was left behind.

Homeless men and women were left to scrounge as best they could for a new living site.

Being poor today is more difficult than it was years back, especially if one lived in a rural area.

I know because I have been there.

When the Great Depression hit Nevada, almost everyone was affected -- my family included. We lost our home. My dad took us to old mining camps trying to scratch enough gold out of the Earth to feed us.

At one point, we were evicted because we couldn't pay the rent -- $25 a month.

Meals consisted of anything that was cheap. A big event was receiving a carton of discarded clothing from a well-to-do cousin.

So I can sympathize with the people who are labeled "homeless." It's a case of been there, done that.

In those days of the depression we had one advantage. Almost everyone was in the same situation.

Getting help was a neighbor-to-neighbor effort, not the entrenched bureaucracy that is so intimidating to today's poor.

And, there wasn't fear. Offering a ride to a hitchhiker, some day labor to a worker, or even a meal to a hungry man was routine. We were not afraid that an individual would rob or even murder.

I have heard the statement: "There are plenty of jobs, why don't these people go to work?"

That might be so, but employers are not rushing to hire someone who doesn't have an address, transportation to work, or even proper clothing.

I don't know what the answer is, but this is a problem that isn't going to go away -- it might even get worse.

If the economy comes to a grinding halt, the first to be let go would be the lowest paid. Unemployment is the parent of poverty.

Without a practical solution to the homeless problem, compassion might be a start.

On the lighter side:

Who would have guessed that old bowling shoes would be making a fashion statement?

A recent newspaper report reveals that bowling establishments are being robbed of dozens of pairs of shoes weekly. The shoes are being worn with shorts and Capri pants by both young adults and teenagers. Even a few seniors have picked up on this latest fad.

There's a pill for everything.

Gain weight, lose weight, grow hair, whiten teeth, enhance your love life, prevent diarrhea, ease arthritis pain, get rid of the blues -- it's all easy, just take a pill.

But watch out, the side effects might be worse than the problem. Like the surgeon general's warning on cigarettes, all these hypes carry a warning, "Ask your doctor, if this is for you."

I'm beginning to think this is all a grand conspiracy.