I SHEEPISHLY ASK THE FELLA IN FRONT OF ME, A HUSKY MIDDLE AGED FELLA, WHAT'S TODAY'S DATE.  

"YOU MUST BE HUNGRY LIKE THE REST OF US, HUH SISTER?"  THE GUY ANSWERED WITH A SMILE.    CAN'T WAIT TO GET SOME OF THAT SOUP AND A LOAF OF BREAD.  NOT EATING CAN AFFECT YOUR  BRAIN.  IT'S FEBRUARY 9, 1933."

OMIGOSH 1933, THE VERY DEPTHS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION.  I MEAN THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS LIKE 25% BACK THEN, I MEAN AS BAD AS THINGS ARE IN 2009, IT WAS A LOT WORSE BACK IN 1933.

OF COURSE I HAVE TO ASK THE FELLA ANOTHER STUPID QUESTION?  "AHHHHHHH CAN YOU ALSO TELL ME WHERE WE ARE?"

THE FELLA SHOOK HIS HEAD.  "LADY I'M GONNA LET YOU GET IN FRONT OF ME AND I MAY GIVE ME MY LOAF OF BREAD.  YOU REALLY MUST BE HUNGRY.  WE'RE IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES, HILL STREET."

"WELL YOU KNOW I LIKE LOST MY WAITRESS JOB LAST WEEK AND I'VE BEEN AUDITIONING FOR ALL THESE ACTING JOBS OUT HERE IN HOLLYWOOD BUT BECAUSE I'M ONLY EATING ONE MEAL A DAY, HERE IN THE SOUPLINE, I DO GET A BIT DIZZY SO I FORGET THINGS." I JOKINGLY TOLD THE GUY.  "I MEAN I HAD TO MOVE OUT OF MY APARTMENT AND I'M STAYING IN A SHELTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN OUT ON 6TH STREET."

"YOU WOMEN ARE LUCKY," THE FELLA SIGHED.  "A LOT OF US MEN, EVEN SOME OF THE MARRIED GUYS, HAVE TO SLEEP OUT ON THE STREET......IN CARDBOARD BOXES...........I SLEEP ON THE STREET......SIX MONTHS AGO I HAD A NICE JOB AS A BANKER.............NOW I'M LIVING ON SKID ROW....'HOOVERVILLE'...."

"I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE," I SOFTLY TOLD THE FELLA.  "TIMES ARE REALLY TOUGH.  PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR JOBS LEFT IN RIGHT IN MY ERA TOO JUST LIKE THEY DID IN YOUR ERA....I MEAN LAST WEEK MY RESTAURANT AND EVEN A BIG NATIONAL CHAIN CALLED DENNYS GAVE OUT FREE BREAKFASTS.  I MEAN THE LINES WERE JUST AS LONG AS THIS SOUP LINE.  I JUST HOPE OBAMA'S STIMULUS PACKAGE IS FOR REAL AND WILL HELP A LOT OF ME...ALL THE GOP LEADERS ARE SAYING IT'S NOTHING BUT WASTEFUL SPENDING AND WON'T CREATE A LOT OF JOBS..................."

OMILORD I JUST REALIZED I MADE A SLIP OF THE TONGUE AND WAS REFERENCING 2009 BECAUSE THE FELLA JUST STARED AT ME LIKE I WAS CRAZY LIKE..........

"DENNY'S?  OBAMA?" HE QUIETLY SAID.  LOOK SISTER YOU WANT TO SIT ON THAT PARK BENCH AND REST WHILE I GET FOOD FOR BOTH OF US?  I THINK YOU COULD USE THE REST.  MY NAME'S JIM.  WHAT'S YOUR NAME, BY THE WAY?"

"MY REAL NAME'S CHERYL BUT PEOPLE CALL ME FIFI."

JIM SMILED.  "FIFI, JUST LIKE THE FRENCH POODLE......"

"YEAH YEAH," I GROWLED.  "JUST LIKE THE FRENCH POODLE.  CAN YOU PLEASE GET THE FOOD? I'M HUNGRY."

"OF COURSE." JIM GOT BACK IN THE SOUP LINE.

AS I SAT ON THE PARK BENCH WAITING FOR JIM TO BRING ME THE FOOD AN ELEGANTLY DRESSED LADY SAT NEXT TO ME.  SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SMILED.  I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE AT FIRST, BECAUSE OF THE MAKEUP, I THOUGHT SHE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME GLAMOROUS HOLLYWOOD STAR, THEN LOOKING AT HER CLOSELY I REALIZED IT WAS.............

"ALOCKI?"

"YES FIFI." ALOCKI LAUGHED.

"OF COURSE, OF COURSE.  ANOTHER SILLY DREAM AND WHO HAS TO BE IN IT BUT MY BEST FRIEND AND SMARTEST PERSON I KNOW THE ALIEN FROM THE PLANET ZATORIS...."

"FIFI PERHAPS IT IS NOT A DREAM.  PERHAPS YOU ARE ASTRAL TRAVELING TO THE PAST TO UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF YOUR PLANET IN 1933 AND HOW SIMILAR THEY ARE TO THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF YOUR PLANET IN 2009."

"YOU THINK I MADE A MISTAKE THAT COULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY ALOCKI?  YOU KNOW MENTIONING OBAMA AND DENNY'S  TO JIM WHEN NEITHER ONE WAS AROUND IN 1933."

"IT IS OF NO CONCERN FIFI, PERHAPS WE ARE IN A DREAM AND IF WE ARE NOT THE PERSON KNOWN AS JIM HAS PROBABLY ALREADY FORGOTTEN ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE SAID.  REMEMBER HE THOUGHT YOU WERE HOW SHOULD I DAY IT 'CRAZY'?"

"THAT'S A NICE WAY OF SAYING IT," I SARCASTICALLY ANSWERED ALOCKI.

WELL GUESS WHAT?  ANOTHER VISITOR JOINS US ON THE PARK BENCH WITH FOOD FOR BOTH HIM AND ALOCKI.  IT'S ALOCKI'S GOOD COMPANION AND THE SECOND SMARTEST PERSON I EVER MET, HELLOS, NATILLY DRESSED IN A PINSTRIPED SUIT AND WEARING A BEAUTIFUL GRAY FEDORA ON HIS HEAD."

"YOU SURE ARE DRESSED NICE HELLOS?  I COMPLIMENTED HIM."

"THANK YOU FIFI," HELLOS ANSWERED.  "I LIKE THE WAY THE MEN DRESSED IN THIS TIME PERIOD, BETTER THAN THE WAY THEY DRESS IN 2009.   I ALSO NOTICE THE MUCH LOWER LEVELS OF GREENHOUSE GASES  AND HIGHER OZONE LEVELS IN YOUR 1933  ATMOSPHERE COMPARED TO THE SAME LEVELS IN YOUR 2009 ATMOSPHERE.   I ALSO ENJOY LISTENING TO THE SIMPLE RADIO  WAVE TRANSMISSIONS CAUSED BY THESE PRIMITIVE VACCUM TUBE RADIOS.  SOMETIMES IT IS NICE TO BE IN SIMPLER TIMES.  OF COURSE YOUR 2009 EARTH TECHNOLOGY IS STILL PRIMITIVE TO OUR ZATORIAN TECHNOLOGY......"

"ALLRIGHT ALLRIGHT HELLOS," I GROWLED.  "LET'S NOT COMPARE ZATORIS TO EARTH.  WE'VE BEEN PUT HERE TO SEE HOW 1933 IS SIMILAR ECONOMIC WISE TO 2009.  WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF OUR PLANETS IN ANOTHER DREAM."

JIM FINALLY CAME BACK WITH 2 BOWELS OF SOUP AND 2 CUPS OF COFFEE.  "I GUESS THEY RAN OUT OF BREAD FIFI, SO MANY PEOPLE OUT THERE," HE SAID AS HE GAVE ME THE FOOD.

I INTRODUCED JIM TO HELLOS AND ALOCKI.  "JIM THESE ARE MY 2 DEAR FRIENDS HELLOS AND ALOCKI"

JIM SHOOK ALOCKI'S AND HELLO'S HANDS.  "A PLEASURE MEETING BOTH OF YOU.  FIFI, ALOCKI, HELLOS.........EXOTIC NAMES.....I GUESS I'M JUST PLAIN JIM...."

"JIM IS A NAME THAT IS CONSIDERED EXOTIC, ESPECIALLY WHERE I AM FROM...."ALOCKI ANSWERED WITH A SMILE.

JIM LOOKED AT ALOCKI CURIOUS LIKE...."WHERE WOULD THAT BE?"

"I AM FROM.............'MONGOLIA.'"

JIM LET A OUT A BIG GRIN...."OH SO WERE YOU RAISED BY MISSIONARIES?"

"YES..............."

JIM SAT DOWN ON THE BENCH NEXT TO US AND DRANK HIS COFFEE....."I JUST HOPE FDR'S 'NEW DEAL' THAT HE'S BEEN PROMISING GETS US OUT OF THIS DEPRESSION AND GETS US ALL WORKING AGAIN......WELL FIND OUT WHEN HE GETS INAUGARATED NEXT MONTH......"

"I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN," I SMIRKED AS I DRANK COFFEE..."THESE PRESIDENT'S ALWAYS PROMISE US A LOT AND THEN SELL US A BILL OF GOODS."

"AT LEAST WE'RE NOT IN A WAR" JIM SIGHED.  "I'M A VETERAN OF THE WAR TO END ALL WARS.  I HOPE NEVER TO SEE A WAR AGAIN AS A LONG AS A LIVE"   WHILE HE WAS SAYING THIS IN THE BACKGROUND A YOUNG KID AT A NEARBY NEWS STAND YELLS OUT "EXTRA EXTRA ADOLF HITLER SWORN IN AS NEW CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY, READ ALL ABOUT IT".  ALOCKI AND I LOOK AT EACH OTHER AND SAY NOTHING.

"YEAH WELL JIM," I QUIETLY TOLD THEM.  "I THINK THINGS WILL GET BETTER.  IT MAY TAKE A WHILE BUT THINGS WILL GET BETTER...."

"YES FIFI AND JIM," ALOCKI INERJECTED.  "ONE THINKS THIS GREAT DEPRESSION WILL EVENTUALLY COME TO AN END.  IT IS TOO BAD ONE CANNOT SEE INTO THE FUTURE....."

"YEAH," JIM ANSWERED.  "THE FUTURE........MAYBE ONE DAY MEN WILL LAND ON THE MOON, OR PEOPLE WILL GET TO WATCH A LITTLE ELECTRIC BOX IN THEIR LIVING ROOMS WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE PEOPLE ENTERTAIN US ON A LITTLE SCREEN, OR WE'LL BE ABLE TO WRITE LETTERS TO EACH OTHER AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT, OR WE'LL BE ABLE TO FLY TO EUROPE FROM THE STATES IN A FEW HOURS, OR WE'LL FIND A CURE FOR POLIO, OR WE'LL USE LITTLE PLASTIC CARDS INSTEAD OF CASH OR.........WE'LL HAVE A NEGRO PRESIDENT......THERE'S ALWAYS THE FUTURE....."

ALOCKI, HELLOS, AND I LAUGHED WHEN WE HEARD JIM MAKE THESE COMMENTS.

"WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE LAUGHING ABOUT?' JIM QUESTIONED US WITH A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE.......FIFI WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

'OMIGOSH HERE WE GO AGAIN, IT WAS NICE KNOWING YOU JIM.  LIKE ALWAYS SEE YOU BOTH AROUND HELLOS AND ALOCKI....."EVERYTHING STARTED GETTING BLURRY.....................

THE NEXT THING I KNOW I WAKE UP IN MY FREEZING VAN NUYS BEDROOM AND IT'S 2009 AGAIN.   WELL A FEW HOURS LATER I WAKE UP AND GO TO MY WAITRESS JOB AT THE COFFEE SHOP.  ON MY WAY TO THE ENTRANCE SOME POOR BUM COMES UP TO ME AND SAYS, "LADY CAN YOU SPARE A FEW BUCKS?  I HAVEN'T EATEN IN A COUPLE OF DAYS."

I TOOK OUT FOUR BUCKS AND GAVE IT TO THE POOR FELLA.  "OF COURSE FELLA, I KNOW TIMES ARE TOUGH AND YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A JOB.  YOU KNOW IN 1933 FOUR BUCKS WOULD BE EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT A DIME....I SMILED AT THE FELLA AS HE STARED AT ME CURIOUS LIKE AND WENT INTO THE COFFEE SHOP....