The tourists pull off Route 12A just across the river to snap pictures of the Connecticut River, the covered bridge reaching from Cornish to Windsor and, beyond them, the hunched majesty of Mt. Ascutney.

On Jarvis Street, life is less majestic. When times are good, many residents in this, one of Windsor’s poorest neighborhoods, struggle. When times are bad, well, at least they’re used to it. One gray morning recently, I walked down the street to ask residents how the recession reverberates in their lives.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” says Guy Reynolds, 51, a former construction worker who now lives on disability payments because of his diabetes. “The poor get poorer and the rich get richer.”

Reynolds shares a home at the south end of Jarvis Street with his brother-in-law, Rich Campbell. It’s like many of the homes in this neighborhood originally built for factory workers: narrow, wood-framed, with a couple of satellite dishes bolted to the outside. Inside, the two men keep the place tidy, with heat radiating from a woodstove and “Live with Regis and Kelly” chirping away on the TV.

Campbell, 44, does not seem like a man given to self-pity. But he’s seen hard times. His wife, Linda, died of cancer a year and a half ago. A roofer and carpenter by trade, Campbell hasn’t seen much work come his way since the economy went into the ditch.

“It’s always slow in the winter,” he says, jamming his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans. “Usually we get a couple (of jobs) but … Nobody’s spending any money.”

At times like this, the men say, family and friends make all the difference. Reynolds’ daughter has helped close the gap; Campbell’s friends in the trades try to throw him some work here and there: swap out an old gas tank, replace some floor joists. There might even be some work on a fancy barn remodel up the road in Lebanon.

“Keeps the wolves away,” he says. “You live week to week. Some weeks are better than others.”

Today's question: Will the federal bailout plan help working class people like Guy Reynolds and Rich Campbell?