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This. Is Rumble Strip America? Heilman and

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today is Part Five of What Class

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Or you? This is actually a show.

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I have already aired on Rumble Strip,

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but this one bears repeating. I

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met Katrina. I think on the first

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day I ever drove around ah, asking

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people about class. I was up in

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the Northeast Kingdom and I was in

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Orleans and outside the only general store

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right across the road from the Ethan

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Allen Furniture Mill. There were some people

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sitting around in the front of the

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store talking and v being when. When

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I walked up and I asked if

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I could ask an awkward and probably

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offensive question, Katrina Patrick said absolutely, pull

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up a chair Katrina Patrick worked at

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the general store. She was born and

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raised in Newport, Vermont and here's some of what

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she had to say: If

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I ask you what class

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you are, what class or you,

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I am working class. Okay,

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what is that? What does that

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mean? I'm a mean. I

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basically was born into a family

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where we know that we're

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not rich. We know there were

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probably never going to get to

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the top. Were here to

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make sure that the. Rich

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people get what they want

1:14

in life that they are

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going to be able to

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get their Mcdonalds. We are

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specifically here for a purpose

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to keep it running. And

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keep it running for who were

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keeping it going for? The

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people who. Get. The

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tax breaks that. Don't

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have to worry about. Where

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their next pay checks coming from? That

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we're the ones making sure the world

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keeps on spinning. You know, Who

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are rich people? Ah

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I'm I mean they can spend

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money without thought and you can

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kind to towel our mean I

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work here at the general store.

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You can tell when somebody's com

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then and by how they are.

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Stature is other demeanor is by

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the amount of money that they're

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sending. They'll never know how hard

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it is to just. Pay

2:13

rent, What would you assume?

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The say assume about you? Well

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I know that you I personally

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I get food stamps and I

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think they would think that that

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would mean that I don't work

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hard enough. Arm. And

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that I could get a better

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paying job. So

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I would say that they just. They

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think we're lazy that we could work

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harder. When

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you were growing. Up did you have a

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sense of your class? In relation

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or in comparison to other people. I

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definitely knew the term

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blue collar. I'm

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thinking that maybe eyes started

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to realize the difference as

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I was. You know

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pre teen because as when I

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realize like. Oh wait.

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Those people are wearing really

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fancy clothes and I'm like

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wearing stuff that's clearly from

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the dollars to or. I

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can remember those kids that I

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like the thought were well off.

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They also did really well academically.

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I could tell that their

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parents cared about how they

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were doing in school, and

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they also a lot of

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them parsec in extra curricular.

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Which I did not have that are but yeah.

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Kids, I had things going on.

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I mean, maybe some of them

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were rich, but maybe some of

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them were a little bit. Above

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working class where their parents

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were. Always at work and selling

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them. Fix your own dinner tonight. maybe

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they had mom's that worth six in

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their dinner every night. and having them

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sit at the table and tell them

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about how they're days when. You

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know, You.

4:02

Have room for not in your car.

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Know. I would

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love to, but I struggled.

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My own life is that

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I've never been able to

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acquire friends that are have

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a higher Thatcher because of

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the. Disconnect. When

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you're born, your. Destiny is

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almost set forth for you,

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depending on who. Raised you.

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What? Is it has to do

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with of how does everything you're

4:34

describing show up in policy. Trump

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being president actually made that

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divide clear. He

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made it very clear. Here

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read your poor let's make

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it so that way from

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here are now we're pointing

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out the problem. Is

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it was already a fact? You've already

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something we all knew. but I think

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his plan the he really wanted to

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divide us. Does

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he? Care of

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our poor people now. I

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feel like Trump was like the to I'm

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just give us all some sort of lethal

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dosage of something super put us in our

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on an island To me poor. People

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are all all people. Know Anybody

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that isn't of higher stature lied

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and lied is meaning of. He

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has people supporting. Will

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they as the hope of becoming

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the rich white man's hill? The

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everybody hopelessly read, have a hot

5:31

wife and you know be in

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power. Of other people. And

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I think that maybe. For

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a lot of them, they thought

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he's example. Is

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talking about class A Census?

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I don't think anybody that

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in a lower class would

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be offended at all. But

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people in our higher class would be

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like, why are you pointing out the

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fact that there's people lesser than me.

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I never point out with their. Anyone

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lesser than me but realistically

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flaunting the things that they

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have an a world where

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people don't have a lot

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that is pointing out. Who you

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are and where you can friend. Most

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people who don't have much will

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not be offended by this question.

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The people who have a lot

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would be offended pedophilia totally. They

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would be worried about the fact

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that they'd have to explain what

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they have and. Where it all

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though? Isn't this isn't that? And

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maybe they have things they don't

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want people to now when they're

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have a higher Thatcher. When

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you're a lower stature of areas in March the

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you have to hide. With

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your were your parents work. With.

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Their arm. And

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natural. Projects? Are you

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sure? I mean my Dad.

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He has been working since

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he was. Sixteen, he

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was doing logging instead. Of

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going to school. When he

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met my mom, they were both working

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at Columbia Forest Products which is a

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mill and new poor. My

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father. He himself worked at Columbia.

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For thrive for. Twenty seven

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years. Then they let him

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go and then he works

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at Price Chopper and now

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he works at Shaw's as

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as the very manager. He

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still continues to have a

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lot of health problems. With

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his nerves in his arms,

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in his hands in his

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leg he his body is

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a clear depiction of what

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happened to a working class

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person. They

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have a kind of makes the effect of he.

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He's probably gonna die working.

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I mean, I'm sure he

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won't see a retirement. I'm

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sure he. Will

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never have adequate amount of

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money saved up to be

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able to do anything. More

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than drink every day. I

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mean, at the end of the day even though.

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Poor people. Make lifer Working class

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make less than upper class. we're

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still gonna walk. or pack of

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cigarettes are bottle of. Those are

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six pack of beer. You know

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we're gonna need those type of

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thing because it's really hard to

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go through life without having something

8:24

to make you feel a little

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better. And because we can't afford

8:29

to go on vacations, we take

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a mentor vacation. You

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know, Yeah. That.

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Was Katrina Patrick and in a time since

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I met her she left her cashier job,

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she got a job at a Gal the

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On factory up a new port and for

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the first time in her life she's got

8:50

benefits, regular hours and weekends off. She lives

8:52

in her own apartment with two hands and

8:54

Pats. And she seems really he be. Lower

8:57

Class or You is a periodic series I

8:59

make for from a public Think you from

9:02

a public for letting me share these shows

9:04

with Rumble Strip. If you have a common

9:06

I'd love to hear it. Just go to

9:09

the website Rumble Strip of vermont.com and we'll

9:11

find a comment box on one of the

9:13

show pages. and if you like what you're

9:15

hearing, tell people about it because that is

9:18

true people hear about the So I'm. I'm

9:21

not a stiller. Promoter.

9:24

Of shows so that would be really helpful.

9:27

This is Rumble strip America home and I'll be

9:29

back soon with the next. Installment Of What

9:31

Class or you? Thanks a lot

9:33

for listening.