Chapter 16: Long Hard Road (Part Two)

In the mean time I found a small travel trailer that I was going to see about buying it so I would have a roof over my head. The owner Rick Shepard of the trailer park had it for sell for $750.00 and it was already in the park, but he wanted to move it to a different location in the park. I also had to wait until he arrived from Montague, CA where he lives. In the mean time I had befriended the on site manager Arnold who is of Hispanic decent and he let me sleep in my van next to the travel trailer I was going to buy. I had no idea how I was going to buy the travel trailer and pay the space rent for it this month. I had saved some money last month but not enough to do both.

After I decided not to rent the mobile home from my friend. I stopped sleeping in front of it and began sleeping next to the space by the travel trailer and during the day I would go to the small park where I could find shade to keep cool and where there was a portable rest room I could use if I needed too. That way I did not have to use the one in the main store Jocks or go to restaurant when it was open. I had lived here before and I did not want to be seen by anyone that knew me from the past when I was taking care of Mom here. I had a few other reasons too but I will share it at a later time as for those reasons. Even the Chief of Police Tony Ross wondered why I would of all places come back here to live in a community of not more than a population of 1000 people.

I was at least able to take two showers while I was here at Lanie’s friend’s house the same friends that Lanie had rented her Mobile home to them a few months back as I heard all the gossip about that situation too. So I figured to be fair I would split the differences and give Lanie $75.00 by splitting the difference as I know she was in no situation to be able to pay me back if I loaned her $150.00. So I gave her $75.00 for sleeping in my van in front of her space with all my stuff in my van. I now know what an astronaut must feel like from the Gemini program in the early 1960’s and having to try and move around and try to sleep and in my case with a dog too.

On the way in to Klamath Falls I stopped to see if I could find Mom’s marker but I had no luck. I could not find it; it was not where I thought it was suppose to be located. I knew that as Lanie Baliey was following behind me that when I stopped at Eternal Hills she might get a little emotional as the day before was her father’s birthday and her father passed away in 2004 when I was in Bend, OR with Mom when she had her aneurysm and she had to be operated on at St. Charles Medical Center.

When I turned into the cemetery they kept going straight, as we knew where to meet, as I had to go to US bank in Klamath Fall to get cash they would need from me for sleeping in my van. I got to the bank before they did but the ATM machines were out of order and I had no way to get any cash at the main bank on 6th street. The sign on the ATM’s said the downtown branch ATM’s were working. I waited for them to arrive and when they did they were none to happy about the situation. They wanted me to just cash a check but I did not want to do that as I do not have many left and I have been using them sparingly due to the fact I have no address to reorder new checks and have them mailed to me.

I went inside to check my balance and was informed that Albertson’s had an ATM and I could get the cash I needed from there. And Albertson’s is where I usually get gas, so we went there. My friend Lanie Baliey mentioned to me why they did not follow me to the cemetery and like I told her, it was not all about her, that other people have relatives there too, like me somewhere. But, I also mentioned to her at least she knew where her dad was buried in my case, I did not know where Mom’s ashes were, less well if they buried her at all.

They at least had a home to go back too. I was still sleeping in my mini van with the only hope left of trying to buy the travel trailer and live in it to give me a roof over my head, so to speak, but there were no guarantees on the condition of the travel trailer, as it was still locked and the only one with a key to it was Rick the owner of the trailer and RV park. And he was going to sell it as is. It meant it was not a done deal. My only other option was to head to Alturas and unload the van to make it more comfortable by putting some of the stuff into the storages I had there while getting the storage down to one instead of two and sleep in the van in the process.

We parted ways after I gave them the cash they needed and I mentioned I would see them back in Tulelake and might see them before they left to go back home to Redd Bluff, so they could pick up Allen’s unemployment check that was due on Monday. So they could come back up and work at Allen’s pace, which is slower than slow, when it comes to getting things done or accomplished according to his way of doing things of having fits and outburst of anger after he drinks at night and wakes up in a bad mood and takes it out on everyone around him, then apologizes later. A never ending story of excuses and everyone is expected to overlook his ways and just accept them and look the other way and understand.

Go to Chapter 16: Long Hard Road (Part Three)

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