Thank you, silver-queen. Yes, there are people to talk to. I've spoken with the debt counselors and tomorrow have an appointment to talk with a bankruptcy attorney. And yes, what you say is absolutely true: millions of Americans today are being forced to do bankruptcy because they're either out of work (like myself) or have had their income cut by very significant percentages.

We're really very lucky, in a sense. Lucky not to have fallen onto hard times until we qualified for social security. The people who are really, really suffering are those in their forties and fifties who are facing the same kind of situation without the safety net. So I really shouldn't in any way feel sorry for myself or ourselves.

My wife's problem is a real problem: it's TERRIBLE to be totally dependent on another person, in this case, me. For most of her life, my wife was a trained, professional graphic and package designer. She now not only has diabetes and a serious heart condition, but is on the (very much, alas) downward road of either Alzheimer's or plain old dementia. And though I know she really doesn't want to think about it, she knows it's there, and that fear (along with her great fear of death - which I do not share) added to the economic fear is just too much, so she lashes out at me. And though her lashing out makes me feel really, really lousy, I can't help but understand and empathize with her situation. Thank you for your post. Take care!