This is a story that entertains with humor, inspires with courage and determination, and just might cause one to wonder just how close to the future we might be.

In the near future the world economy hits bottom and doesn’t bounce. The story of The Block begins in the US government’s struggle and the US economy’s struggle to recover. It was called the Implosion of 2022. For the senior segment of the population, the other shoe dropped when congress passed the Social Security Revision Act of 2025; when the promise of social security was stripped to bare bones and handed over to the states to fund and manage.

Some seniors, ill-equipped to face their new reality; the value of their lost dreams was held at the same value as life itself. For others, life was life and just moved on. They tightened their belts, formed communities, and found new ways to thrive using the old ways of their forebears, technology, guile, and a little hustle.

Through richly developed characters like Fat Nancy, Big Steve Waterman, Whitey, and the Sanchez Sisters, Doug Richards tells about one community located in Red Bluff, California, created by happenstance under the provisions of the Federal Real Property Repurposing Act of 2025. That community became The Red Bluff Senior Project, aka the Block. Richards looks back at that time with fondness and humor using a compilation of anecdotes to describe the challenges and triumphs he called old glory.

This is a story for everyone. Some reader’s will simply laugh at the relationships and situations. Others will find common identity. I promise you will be pleased with the reading experience.

–Richard Seaman