Once, the suits in the Wall Street crowd, playing with those 9- and 10-figure numbers and raking in millions for themselves, were just characters in the movies for average, hard-working salt-of-the-earth folks. In fact, there was a movie about them, "Wall Street," in which a character played by Michael Douglas uttered a lasting phrase: "Greed is good." It was kind of fun, to see them up there on the big screen, with the fabulous apartments and and the frenetic deal-making backed by shots of the New York skyline.

So guess what? Greed wasn't so good after all. And now, the gang from Lehman Brothers and assorted other money-movers -- and it turns out, shakers -- must take care should they choose to walk down Main Street these days. Prices are up, but tar and feathers are still relatively cheap.

What, then, is life like these days for the good folks on Main Street, or in this case, N.C. 11, a highway that The News & Observer's Barbara Barrett traveled recently through Pitt County? The unemployment rate is 7.5 percent, higher than the state average of 6.9 percent. The median income is $33,000. But Barrett's drive told her much more.

For the real stories of how the roiling in the financial markets and weaknesses in the economy affect people are told by those people themselves.

By the cotton farmer who figures he'll get slammed this winter, when he needs to take out loans for the next year's seed. The banks are understandably scared these days, and if they're going to give people a loan they want substantial collateral. Solid stuff -- land and equipment.

By the cafe supervisor who saw her mortgage payment go up $300 a month because of a rate adjustment. She pays for a ride to work, because her car broke down. Like many folks she knows, every month is struggle and a decision -- which among the bills get paid, and which don't.

By the bank teller who's qualified as a paralegal, but needed a job because her business wasn't going well.

By the trucker who lost everything due to Hurricane Floyd, with a $1,800 mortgage payment, two kids at home and another three who could use a little help. He's on the verge of bankruptcy.

By the hairdresser with a business that's down 50 percent. That's a not uncommon tale on N.C. 11, just as in many other places. Business falls off, and the cycle begins -- layoffs or benefits reductions, so those folks can't buy anything from local merchants, which spreads the pain to all sorts of businesses.

By the mother who knows exactly what it means when the economy sinks while gas prices have risen -- prices for groceries and ordinary goods go up, straining even a modest family budget.

On this road, and on most of the roads in America -- from the lonely ones in Pitt County to the snaking, tree-lined streets in suburbia -- people are feeling more desperate, at the least more worried, and they're looking for answers, or at least for leaders who want to try to give them answers and who have ideas. That's likely what the upcoming presidential election, and U.S. Senate election, and gubernatorial election, are ultimately going to be about. Who has hope and who has the way to answers.

The story of N.C. 11 is the story of what happens, down home, when the movies become all too real.

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