Homeless - 66

Greetings, New Year humans,


I know that it has been awhile since the last post but work, namely documentation, has been consuming my time and...my computer time. At any rate, Happy New Year! Hope yours have started well minus any nefarious effects of the Eve, of course. We have a new president and jeez, wouldn't you want to have a job like that? I would rather spend a couple of months in a room with a bunch of pissed off monkeys. Also, we have one less year before Armageddon and I hope you know what that means because I sure don't.


During the month of January, it was a tad bit chilly in the BT Hilton, especially in the early AM. Does toothpaste freeze? I don't know about that but I did have to let the tube lay beneath a heater vent until the toothpaste could make it's way to the toothbrush with a gentle squeeze. I do the same thing with socks and shoes so that they are warm to my tootsies. Wait...what's that I hear? But David, doesn't the vehicle smell like feet? Nay, my furless biped friends, because I use cedar shoehorns so the truck smells like...trees. Usually, I let BT run for 15-20 minutes in the morning before embarking on the day's adventures, say between 5 - 6 AM on those chilly mornings, and then drive for 15-20 minutes which works out to around 10 miles. It seems she runs better when I do that. It's odd that I used to avoid the morning rush hour at nearly all costs but these days, due to my circumstances, I have to navigate those treacherous waters. Ahhh, how the gods have their fun with me.


On the mornings when the temperate is in the 30's, or worse, I spend a couple hours at a place that serves a decent biscuit with meaty gravy for less than $2. They also have a couple of morning papers that I read and do the crosswords and sudoku - 4 stars or less of course. I back away from a 5 star sudoku. Why waste my time and the universe's on a useless endeavor? After I leave there, I go to a 'pausing spot' to catch another hour or two of sleep or to read or write or edit or trash.


The area had an 'ice event' recently where there was almost a .5 inch accumulation. I know...ooohhh...but closings were all over the place, wrecks all over the place, food hoarding all over the place. I know, people in the Midwest and points north are thinking those Texas pussies but trust me, you don't wanna be out on the roads in these parts even though you may have driving experience with this sort of thing - 99% of the other drivers don't. Hellfire, Billy Bob, a little ice doesn't mean we slow down. I ain't no fool; I took the advice of a benefactor and spent the the night at his place. Of course, there was no room for BT inside so she had to endure the icicles hanging off her young ebony hide. There was ice in the bed of the truck for over two days...and a frozen towel that would not yield it's position during that time.


I had to devote some finances to BT's upkeep since the first of the year; namely, a belt, a belt tensioner and an alternator. As it turns out, all were squealing in a most distressful manner, heralding the arrival of BT wherever we went. Such an attribute runs counter to her otherwise stealthy nature. To keep her legal, I had to renew her registration sticker. Repairs and sticker cost nearly $500. To save that amount of money out the fortune I'm paid every two weeks is not the easiest thing but a lot of people already know that. Next month, I'm going to have to spring for an oil change and inspection sticker and a new locking gas cap which all will total over $100. Last year, they let me slide on the gas cap which wasn't sealing tightly. I told the tech that I would take care of it and I can't come up with a viable line of BS as to why I hadn't taken care of in all this time.


I called the IRS last month to let them know that my circumstances haven't improved to the point to pay the back taxes, etc that I owe. I believed I mentioned my somewhat deep relationship with them in a previous post, that of owing more than many people don't net in a year. After being shunted through three people, I talked with a representative, who after hearing of my circumstances, informed me that account would remain in 'noncollectable status but penalties and interest would continue to accrue'. Since I currently am a working citizen and duty bound to file a tax return, I asked about the ultimate destiny of my refund. Now, a sophisticated customer service response would have been along the lines of Mr. Jones, while the IRS is fully cognizant and sympathetic to your circumstances, at this time there is no procedure within our policy exempting you from the responsibilities of a U.S. citizen regarding your past tax bill. However, I will enter a notation in your file, so that in the event that an exemption of that nature becomes active, you will be notified. Instead, the reply was Nope, we'll keep it all. That response certainly fuels the fires of my desire to get that form in the mail. Meanwhile, the penalties and interest will continue to accrue.


Given the amount of money I owe other 'interests', if I do secure employment within the national median range of salary, I will have so many 'interests' chasing after my check, that I will be working full time for the rest of my days and still living at the BT Hilton. To have a comfortable existence, I would need a big chunk of change at the onset to pay those 'interests off and have a decent roof over me and BT.


I'm working on that...as I write these words under a street light in a parking lot on a Sunday at 9:46 PM.


Later,


David