Madden Normal

So, what's normal?  Normal to me may seem odd to you because our life experiences differ.

Madden normal was sleeping on the floor.  Brushing my teeth with baking soda when we ran out of toothpaste was normal.  Wearing second-hand or even third- hand to the rag stage was normal for me.

My addled Grandmother, Agnes, going door-to-door in her blue chenille bathrobe asking neighbors if they had her teeth was normal.  Frequently, she had to be escorted home since she didn't remember where she lived.

Living in poverty was normal in Daly City.  It was a neighborhood thing.  Everyone was struggling.  We all seemed to be the same, no one was better, no one was rich.  We were all, in my point of view, equal.I rather liked it that way.

But, when we moved 25 miles south to Redwood City, I no longer felt normal.  I discovered that children on welfare had nicer clothes than I did.  How did that happen?