Neither she nor her husband had an idea of the magnitude of the
yearly fuel bill. Life in Manhattan, particularly among the
affluent, makes great demands on time, and the use of time saving
devices is inevitable. Mr. F estimates he works six days, 70 hours
a week in the art gallery and that Mrs. F works six days, 30 hours
a week. The Fs' extensive travel is always "work related."
VERNON
AND NORA Y—INCOME $30,000 PLUS —SUBURBAN LOS
ANGELES
In spite of
the exasperating disappointments, the anxieties, and the fatigue,
the Ys are a couple whose dreams have come true. They have come a
long way together in a relatively short time and they have a lot to
show for it: a handsome house in a Los Angeles suburb (worth
$75,000 at a minimum); four automobiles ranging from a Karman Ghia
to a Cadillac (on which they put 45,000 miles a year); two sons and
a daughter; a swimming pool; an automatic washing machine, electric
refrigerator, gas stove, electric clothes dryer; automatic
dishwasher; a color TV; central air conditioning; and a stereo.
The Ys,
Vernon and Nora, are in their early forties and are affluent. They
are city people. They own two houses, but their second home is
rented out. Nora is involved in business and feels harassed. The Ys
were born poor, and despite their achievements they are not in
control of their daily routine. The Ys are concerned with the
problems of the age and they have firm attitudes toward the energy
shortage and pollution. They blame—with equal
fervor—big business, the Congress, and the Los Angeles city
government.
They have a
feeling that something went awry with their carefully nurtured
plan. Mr. Y is the director of nonfoods for the main grocery in a
large chain. Mrs. Y remains in their suburban neighborhood where
until recently she sold real estate. She stopped because "they
wanted me to put real estate number one. I said, `no, my family is
number one.' " The two boys, Vernon, Jr. and Joey, go to college,
one to UCLA and the other to a local community college. Both plan
to be engineers. Their daughter goes to public elementary
school.
Their house
is in a subdivision of expensive houses. Theirs is the last on a
dead-end street. It is a typical California house, one floor and
spread out, with a two-car garage, lots of trees and shrubbery, and
a large pool out back. The quiet street lined with palms is
pleasant even on a hot midsummer day. The street lacks a prevailing
sense of neighborliness. A few blocks away, Burbank Boulevard
divides the rich from the poor; on one side of the Boulevard are
$75,000 houses, on the other, $15,000 cottages. The palms are
luxuriant on both sides.