Caught in the Chaos

My landlord showed up a few months ago. First time we've seen her in about 10 years. Unfortunately, her husband isn't doing well, Parkinson's, and they're pretty sure they're going to have to sell the house that I've been renting for 12 years. I know, it had to happen eventually.

Her relatives from Ohio also arrived to help her sort out the upstairs. She also had another friend from Fort Lauderdale stay for a few days for moral support. The relatives were only here for a short while so they were on a mission to get things done and that's what they did.

My little dog barked at them every time they made a noise or came downstairs, which happened quite often, and as a result, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep for their entire visit. It's unsettling to have your space invaded when you are used to the relative tranquility of privacy. And having to remember to put on clothes and not pee in the backyard every time I went outside, geez.

They had a hard time understanding "Key's time," that we were incapable of being in their "mainland" hurry. In the meantime, my landlord suffered from bouts of sentimentality and changed her mind about selling the house several times a day. One minute she was asking about contractors to fix the place up and the next minute they were going to sell it as is.

I feel for her because she doesn't have the assistance of her husband and he wants to keep bicycles that he can no longer ride, that sentimentality thing. From all the stuff that came down, I don't think they've ever thrown anything away... And there's still more stuff upstairs.

I'm a doer, I respond too quickly sometimes. With the price of housing in the Keys, it was a little disturbing to contemplate first, last and security when the bank account is lucky to have the first and some groceries for the week. I've always had a plan in the back of my mind for just this occasion. The wife and I always planned on retiring to an RV lifestyle as that's probably the only thing we can afford with my chosen profession.

I figured my one ton Transit van would be able to pull a decent, livable trailer. I was incorrect. It will barely pull a 5' x 8', empty U-Haul. As we need the van to haul my music gear, it was determined that we would trade our 'almost paid off' Honda CRV for a Toyota truck with the I- Force V8 engine. With the Tundra, we can now pull a livable trailer. Frozen tundra. Strange name for a truck, I think. Who gives a shit as long as it runs good, huh?

Then the search was back on for a trailer, which we negotiated and wheeled and dealed and got what we figured was probably the best deal we were going to get just before the summer vacation rush. All with no money down. We were set to go pick the 37', 1.5 bath, super rig up. One and 1/2 baths you asked? Damn right. After 12 years of sharing one shitter... We're getting too old to hold it or be rushed to finish. At least that's the dream anyway...

Then we realized there was nowhere to put it. The last time I looked at RV lots they were $450 a month. Now they cost that per day at a lot of places! And beyond that, there was nothing available for a 37 footer. Nothing that would accommodate parking for two vehicles, especially. So we had to cancel the RV purchase. Always enjoy pissing off sales people for as many times as I've been hosed on deals and bullshitted on warranties.

The landlord's relatives went back home after two weeks. They were nice enough people but they really didn't decompress while they were here. It's always sad to see people leave the Keys without having caught the vibe. Oh well, Paradise is fleeting.

The landlord left the following week and had finally come to the conclusion that she needed to return in October to finish sorting things out, so we're good until then, most likely a little longer before the place actually sells. But this neighborhood is prone to King Tide flooding and I would like to be somewhere else when that happens this year.

The strange thing is, I'm trapped in paradise. There is no other place like the Keys where I can find enough work within a 100 mile drive to make a living. We have a slow season, but a lot of places have a no season, they completely shut down when business slows.

We're planning on purchasing a newer model, bumper pull RV and we're looking for a place to put it. So, if anybody has a business or property they would like looked after, that's big enough to park our RV, plug into shore power and have a pump out service take care of that part of the situation. Nothing discourages busy bodies like 24 hour security. We can also pay a modest amount of rent, remember, I am a working musician so I make almost as much as a bus boy. It would be like supporting the arts... which is better than being an athletic supporter, though there is nothing wrong with supporting athletics.

I apologize for not keeping up with my blog and posting events but I have been otherwise occupied with the drudgery of reality invading paradise. Peace and Love!

The good thing about living in an RV is no matter where you go, you're always at home.