| A dispirited age of hot flashes, unease and anger PHOENIX, ARIZONA — ““Work For Food” said the sign being held by the big, biack, angry man. "Of course he didn’t want to work for food. Like you and me, he wanted to work for money and only desperation was driving him to the barter system for his labor. There were a dozen ragged men on that corner. The road in suburban Phoenix, beside the freeway, runs long and straight for a considerable distance, but then makes a sharp bend where cars are obliged to slow down, Apparently it’s a pickup point for job hunters. People from the barricaded retirement communities such as Sun City come here to hire people to mow lawns, dig Mower beds or mix cement for their patios. Probably those who don’t need laborers avoid the corner. The big man poked his head almost through the open window 1991 VOLVO 744 GLA Air, sunroof. Paul St. Pierre 1991 VOLVO 944 GLE PAULITICS & PERSPECTIVES SRS, ABS, air, sunroof, demo. to find in the U.S.A. — a lack, almost an absence, of optimism. In Las Vegas, the owner of 2 motorcycle shop says, flatly, “America is finished. I am going home to Austria.”’ SE SBR vow 44 Two of the people murdered at Scottsdale were gunned down... during a dispute about who had which parking stall. 99 1991 VOLVO 944 SE Top line, all luxury options @ demo. on the driver’s side. **Man, | need WORK!” he shouted. It was no time to stop and point out that the car had British Col- umbia licence plates, that we were not from some nearby Wrinkleburg and that we could not provide work for anybody. ‘You keep the car moving and wind up the window. For 20 years we've travelled, once a year, through the western United States, Washington, Qregon, California, Nevada and Arizona and each year becomes a little less comfortable. At the Denny’s restaurant, the Phoenix paper reports that the ci- ty added 150 to the 24,000 murders in the United States in 1991. There were even eight murders in Scotisdale, one of the Wrinkleburg communities where the old bond coupon clippers live behind high brick walls, guarded by their private police forces. Two of the people murdered at Scottsdale were gunned down in a parking lot during a dispute about who had which parking stall. Americans may well lament “‘Our times are out of joint.” Even a few days of travel ure enough to feel a deep and per- vasive discontent. As individuals, Americans re- main courteous and friendly. They keep saying they are optimistic, too, but their teeth are clenched and their nails bite into their palms. Many little things are noticeable. You pay first at the self-service gas station. The motel insists that you understand it’s not their fault if you are robbed. The gap between rich and poor suburbs is more visible now and the poor seem to prefer rioting to voting. This is one of the quieter cities of the American West. In Los Angeles, gangs sometimes gun people down at random from speeding cars, and there are districts into which travellers and taxi-drivers just don’t gc. That is one sensation here, a spring wound too tight. Another is what most of us never expected One is tempted to say that America gave him the opportunity to make money to spend in Austria. One is also tempted to tell the Japanese prime minister, who called American workers lazy and ignorant, that laziness and ig- norance are not as shameful as the behavior of the Japanese army in the Second World War. But is any good served by such arguments? The truth seems to be that Americans are dispirited and strangely unsure of themselves. On the TV we see ABC’s Ted Koppel pushing a yellow-jour- nalism story about whether one of the Democratic presidential can- didates had a mistress. He seems obviously ashamed of himself. So, no doubt, do the newspapers who have dived into the same muck. They are not sure why they do it. It’s a compulsion, that is all they know. Only yesterday, this country ex- emplified wealth, education and adventure. Today it whines because other countries try harder. Its president begs the Japanese to buy a handful of the big Amer- ican cars that the Americans can’t or won’t buy themselves. And all the while the national press talks more about less to ever fewer people. This is not the collapse of the United States of America. These vigorous people will not go whimpering off the world’s stage. But for the moment they are distracted and unhappy. Perhaps we see a transition period, similar to the menopause. Menopause is an affliction for some women in their '40s and men in their foolish ’50s. There are hot flashes, profound depressions and unreasoning ir- ritability. There is a sense that a productive period has passed but not yet an accommodation to the new form and style of living. Canada, which usually goes as does the U.S., is an even more striking example of the menopause being, apparently, hell bent on separation or divorce. But that is another and perhaps sadder story. ee ee me 1 owner, automatic $33,191 NEW 1991 VOLVO 244 DLA Automatic, air, PMV, fF fy cassette. 85 VOLVO 744 TURBO m 1 owner, full service wi 86 SUBARU TURBO WAGON 4X4 $8,500 :85 CHEV CAVALIER 4 cylinder, 4-speed, a good transportation AWARD WINNING PARTS & SERVICE $11,900 91 TOYOTA PREVIA’ LE 4X4 g utomatic, dual air, 4,750} 7 passenger, 14,000 km 83 NISSAN SENTRA WAGON owner, automatic, $3,950 good condition 86 VOLVO 245 GLA 1 owner, like new, also has 3rd seat SALE HOURS MON.-SAT. 9-6 P.M.