Hillbilly Elegy

problems. Now her grandkids woke to
find thick locks cracked in two by dead-
bolt cutters. From that point forward, I
walked.
If Middletown had changed little by
the time I was born, the writing was on
the wall almost immediately thereafter.
It’s easy even for residents to miss it
because the change has been gradual—
more erosion than mudslide. But it’s
obvious if you know where to look, and
a common refrain for those of us who
return intermittently is “Geez,
Middletown is not looking good.”
In the 1980s, Middletown had a
proud, almost idyllic downtown: a
bustling shopping center, restaurants that