Friday, May 11, 2007

Homeless - First Morning

Well, I made it thru the night safely.

I had a banana for breakfast in a parking lot under the shade of a tree watching the morning commute go by at its usual pace..slow.

I swear that the next time I buy a truck it will damn well be an extended cab. I have always been a restless sleeper, tossing and turning...which cannot be executed smoothly when you're 6'4" and 190 lbs. in a regular cab truck. Needless to say, stretching out in the early morning becomes even more paramount. Annnnd that reclines with a massage function that I gave to Salvation Army would definitely help out now.

I picked a spot last night that was close to a 24 hour business next to a major througjhfare. I though that that spot was close enough to offer some protection de to the nearby business but not close enough to be an annoyance. I'll probably use that spot again while checking out other nighttime options.

After eating a salad for lunch, I went to a park and did something that I haven't done since I was a small human...I laid in the grass under a small shade tree, read some and took a nap. A pleasant breeze, few clouds, sounds of birds and wind blowing thru the leaves of the trees. It was tranquil...until the low-flying chopper set off my truck alarm. Thank god I lowered the threshold on my alarm system so that the defensive surface-to-air weapon systems did not engage.
People tend to get a little jumpy when aircraft wreakage is lying about in their neighberhood.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Homeless - Day 1

Today I joined the ranks of the homeless. Over the past several days, I donated a vast majority of my possessions to Goodwill, Salvation Army and the Dallas Public Library. A few other household items were given to a neighbor that I got to know over the past six years. She is storing a couple of my suitcases in her garage and as well as a table and four chairs. She and her pets have always been more than agreeable.

After cleaning up the apartment in the early morning hours, loading a couple of bags into my vehicle and dropping off my keys to the office, I went to a small park and read Thursday's paper under a pavilion while a light rain fell which I
found somewhat soothing. Reading the paper and doing the crosswords and sudoku is something I'm probably going to miss for awhile.

I then drove to Irving for my appointment with my dentist and hygienist. I think both of them are the best. The dentist is a kind, gentle and soft-spoken man who is a credit to his profession. The hygienist similar attributes, always going the extra mile t minimize my discomfort, fear and phobias. I'm such a wuss when it involves dentist offices. I think that some of my previous dentists had specific genetic factors that the personnel of the Spanish Inquisition had. Anyway, both knew of my circumstances and the root canal was performed for free (pain would have been extra).
The hygienist had to perform a deep scaling which required a couple of more shots of Novocaine due to my twitching, thrashing, crying and praying out to gods that know me not to deliver me from this evil. But everything went well and was completed satisfactory.

While I was writing this at a small pool at an apartment complex, a couple of ducks came gliding onto the water for a visit; a couple more uninvited guests. I do admire their method of transport, totally eco-friendly. I guess that at this point all three of us share the attribute of not having a roof over our heads.

Their food is free though...

And now I'm waiting for night to fall. Hopefully, I can find a place that I perceive as reasonably safe to catch some sleep in my vehicle. I haven't slept that well the past few nights due to some reason that escapes me. Maybe
tonight will yield a good rest.

There is something about the things I gave away. Of all them I didn't experience a sense of loss, regret, remorse or that I was releasing things that were valuable to me except for my books (sci-fi, spiritual, metaphysical, nonfiction),
DVDs (sci-fi, current movies, classics, some old Hollywood stuff) and over 100 CDs(Motown, 70's, 80's, 90's, classical, jazz, soft techno)...with these items I did experience something like saying goodbye to close friends,
of losing something valuable. That stung a bit.

Jeez, I'm such a wuss.