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now found myself thinking of alternative actions.  Unbelievably, the banks were still open.  You could still freely take your money, but warnings were already on the rise of accounts being frozen.  We had saved our banks once, but inevitably they were going to fail regardless. 
     
    I decided it was time to withdraw my life’s savings before it was too late.  I had enough to live off for the next two years.  I would only be able to cover food and property taxes at the camp, but things would be stabilized by then.  I was just going to have to start over.  The plan was the best one I could think of, as I knew I couldn’t afford to rent my apartment for another six months.  I was in need of security, time, and the tranquility only the camp could offer.  I wasted no time in withdrawing my savings, a third of which I invested in gold and silver that I would keep on hand.  The dollar was already sorely weakened, and I was sure it was going to get a lot worse before the market adjusted.
     
    With my last month’s rent paid, and with what belongings and provisions I had left, I set out on the road towards the camp.  I didn’t pay much attention to the dealings in the city as I left.  I couldn’t bring myself to suffer the images any longer.  I just wanted to get away, and had no plans of ever returning.  I was going to establish a new life in the country.  A more fruitful and peaceful life filled with restored promises.  At least that’s what was going through my head.  Truth be told you can run, but you definitely can’t hide forever.  And as I was to find out, you can’t hide from a global disaster.  Especially when the disaster is not only made by, but also fed daily by man.
     
    The city and all my sorrowful feelings soon faded into the rear mirror as I drove away.  Once again I was already starting to feel life travel through my veins.  Going to camp always did that for me.  The ride was a long one as I took my time and enjoyed the ride.  I was making it a point to slow down, and enjoy what I had and what was around me.  If I didn’t I knew there would be no hope or happiness.  The only bad part of the ride was the radio.  The stations were few now, and not because of reception.  Like most other businesses the airwaves were diminishing.  There was now a new voice calling in the air.  A government owned broadcast for emergencies and up to date information on where to find help if needed.  Of course everybody needed it.  They regularly listed places where bread was being distributed, and on a good day there was also cheese or peanut butter.  What had the world come to?  I laughed as I remembered the day they handed out peanut butter and even jelly at a local strip mall, but no bread was to be found.  People thought it as a cruel mockery by the local government, but it was soon discovered that the truck carrying the bread had been heisted.  Can you believe that?  A bread robbery.  Yeah, I was definitely done with the city life which was congested more with its selfish tyranny than its traffic.  But like I was saying, those memories and images were now fading behind my wheels.
     
    Soon I was back in that same ghost town I had left behind in the fall.  I noticed the gas prices were considerably higher here than in the city I had abandoned.  I didn’t plan on that, but I wouldn’t be doing much traveling either.  I stopped into the diner before filling my tank and gas cans only to find that the doors were permanently locked.  Economic fate had finally ended the diner, and my hopes of visiting my favorite waitress.  Only seemed fitting that tragedy should befall me before I had a chance to even get to know her.  She had just finally told me her name too.  Oh well, I was sure chance would find me in her presence again sometime around town.  Anslee.  I liked the sound of it, and the name fit her too. 
     
    At the pumps I got talking to the owner of the gas station.  It was a