The last time I went to the dentist it was $200 for 12 minutes. I had an appointment early this week to fix a cavity that has been there a year. The office refused to see me because I did not have $200.

I am 60 and have had health issues that caused me to be fired from my part-time job. I receive retirement from the state, which pays most of the big bills, but I fall further behind every month.

One issue that is top of the list in this economy is despair. Good people with the best intentions cannot pay their bills.

I used to consider myself “middle class.” But, there is no middle class any more. There is the rich and there is the rest of the us; all we do is worry about money.

I am constantly reminding myself I am luckier than most. I can get firewood off my own property so I will not be cold like that poor, 92-year-old woman in the news a few days ago.

I am afraid for the sick, the elderly and the children who will go without proper food and warmth this winter.

Because of medical bills I cannot pay, my credit has dropped and I receive mail offers for $1,000 to be placed in my account tomorrow. Interest? Three-hundred percent.

The ones who need it the most have nowhere to turn.

How those big-business CEOs sleep at night is beyond me.

Bobbi Miles Wilner, Norway

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