Economy impact on the psyche

He sees it in his customers' eyes as they pay for food with pocket change. Susan Abram in the Daily News.

It's the little things, like switching from salads to french fries, that tell Tony Green, who runs Flooky's on Victory Boulevard, that his customers are hurting emotionally.

"I can see it in my customers who have been coming here for a long time," Green said. "Their eating habits have changed."

Stocks inch up, then nose-dive. Rows of foreclosure signs line neighborhood lawns. Gas prices fluctuate, and banks go bankrupt. Wars continue in the Middle East and food costs climb everywhere. And on Friday, the Labor Department said the economy lost 159,000 jobs last month, the biggest one-month drop in five years.