Today it was really hard to come to school. All the way there my stomach just kept growling and I knew I was not going to be able to keep it quiet during class. I wanted to have breakfast before I left for school but there was nothing in the kitchen for me to eat. Mom said that maybe if I just told myself that I wasn't hungry I could make it until it was time for lunch. Her eyes looked really sad as she kissed me goodbye and asked me to be her strong little man for another day.
             My name is Henry Michael Thompson and I am ten years old. I live with my mom and my seven brothers and sisters in Clayton, Oklahoma. We really live outside of Clayton on our farm. I go to school in Clayton with my older brothers and sisters but the two babies stay home with mom. We all have class in the same building and have the same teacher. Dad doesn't live at home right now. He had to leave about a month ago to try and find some work so that we could keep the farm. He said there just wasn't any way he could make any money planting crops or raising cows anymore. My mom was crying when he told us he was going to have to go away for a while and then my sisters started crying too. My older brother Tom wanted to go with him but Dad told him he had to stay and try and keep the family together until he got back. It's not like it used to be around here anymore. We used to have electricity in our house and lots of food to eat and the fields were planted with crops. We !
             used to drive into town every Saturday and go to the movies and have ice cream but we haven't done that for a long time.
             Things have really been different since my Dad left. Mom never smiles anymore and she seems to be worried all the time. She says it has something to do with a thing called a depression. Mom explained to us that in the cities thousands of people were without jobs and because they didn't have jobs they couldn't afford to...