dangerous to drive a smaller car on the freeway—"It's a gas eater but he needs it," she said. He leaves for work at dawn to avoid the rush on the freeway and to get all his paperwork done before the official office day begins at 8 a.m. He returns home at 7 p.m.

Mr. Y leads a striking example of the life of the modern successful man. He has little time to enjoy his swimming pool, the pleasant appointments of his home, the society of his family, or the soothing quietness of his neighborhood. Each of the Ys has a car, with the exception of the little girl. Mrs. Y's Cadillac is also a gas eater—getting ten miles to a gallon locally and thirteen long distance—but she felt she needed a new and expensive car for business reasons. "I was selling real estate and there's an aura about the real estate business. You need an impressive car."

Joey goes to UCLA and he needs a car to get there. Mr. Y bought a 1969 Impala for Joey. It gets twelve miles in the city and fifteen long distance. Vernon, Jr. goes to a junior college only a few miles from home, but there is no convenient way to get to school except by auto. There are no buses and one cannot bike or walk on a freeway. Vernon's 1969 Karman Ghia, bought in 1972, gets 22 miles on short hauls and 26 long distance. The boys are pursuing careers that reflect the Y's belief in detached planning. The Ys have concluded that a new engineering boom will supplant the recent slump, so by the time the boys get their masters degrees their skills will be in demand. They have noted that most engineering courses are now underenrolled.

The Ys are people who take life seriously and try hard. Energy and pollution problems are more obvious in the environs of Los Angeles than in most places, and the Ys are directly affected. They have discussed the problems with friends and among themselves and have touched on many different aspects—"conservation of natural resources, of air, of water, of trees; of the potential and threat of nuclear power; of alternate forms of heating; of recycling cans; of plastic milk containers." They believe that the unfortunate circumstances in which they find themselves are the result of the negligence or malice of the powerful. "Why can't the Detroit manufacturers meet the pollution standards? Why doesn't the government push research in solar heating? Why didn't Los Angeles start building a subway ten or twenty years ago?"

The Ys are examples of conspicuous success, yet they do not feel they are in control of anything. They feel manipulated by powerful, remote forces and they are bitter.