The following posting completes a synopsis explaining what I now face and what my plans are.
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Somewhere along the way I got robbed, or did I just give it all away. I've worked my tail off all of my adult life to support 4 children and 2 x-wives. I missed almost all the holidays. birthdays and special family occasions. I worked for them and their future, not for my own. Now I am paying for it.
So, what do I do now?
I have repaired the a/c + heater system again, and repaired the back door. so a couple of my problems have been solved. Next up: (1) a brake job repair, (2) repair cruise control. (3) Replace cables in one side door. I will then have to decide whether to do a van build or get rid of this van.
So, what are my plans for the immediate future? I am doing no productive computer, photography, or music work. I have not given up on any of it though. I have stopped all projects to reduce stress in my life. I will go back to work when I feel I can do what I do without stressing out. I have learned that trying to work while dealing with my health issues simply causes more stress. Instead of working I plan to go fishing. And what are my plans for the years ahead? I am sitting still, dying of boredom, and becoming more depressed each day. With my present physical health problems it is not feasible to even hunt for a job.
I would give everything I own to be able to get back on the road as a trucker. But, I am still under a doctor's care for an eye surgery I had in April of last year. My doctor is now saying that my retina is damaged and cannot be repaired. And, I still have health problems from being on the road doing van life and trying to relocate back to Nevada from February of 2021 until November of 2022. I just do not have the stamina it takes for that job.
So, at the moment my only option is to sit still and save my money and rebuild what life I have. What I want is to eventually return to southern Nevada for several reasons: (1) I prefer the southern Nevada VA health care over what I have in Oklahoma. (2) I have good friends that I trust living there. (3) I have unfinished photography work there. (4) I want to base my future bucket list travels out of there. (5) There are always low and no-cost things to do there as long as I am physically able to do them. (6.) And, Nevada has better weather with less humidity.
Yes, there has been a dry spell in my posting. My last post was on June 26. And, for the next few months, I expect to make very few, if any, posts. Instead, I plan to try to sit at home, save money, do some work on my van, and get ready for Spring weather for boon-docking in the Oklahoma and Texas area. I then hope to develop a website for travel photography during the Fall of 2024. Or, for the next few months of Winter, I will try to once again hibernate and save money for a springtime trip to Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Late in 2009, I was forced into retirement. For 35 years I had worked 70 to 100+ hour weeks driving a truck day and night. If I was not driving I was, except for my last 5 years, loading or unloading my truck. A year later I was renting a room in Las Vegas from an 81-year-old woman. That was when I bought myself another guitar and spent most of my days practicing and learning to play again. That was also when I started writing songs. I now have at least 80 completed songs and 20 or more unfinished songs. But, with no transportation other than walking, a taxi or a metro bus, I soon found myself back in Oklahoma fishing and picking on my guitar, and starting another hobby in photography. Looking back, it wasn’t long until photography and the computer work involved was slowly edging out my guitar picking. But, I chose to do the camera work because I was experiencing a lot of short-term memory loss and cramping in my hands. I was having a hard time improving my music career.
I will skip now to Feb. of 2021. I had lived in the Las Vegas area two other times and returned to Oklahoma to care for an ailing sister. She passed away in October of 2020. Since then I have made three failed attempts to move back to Las Vegas to continue my photographic journey. The COVID pandemic and the influx of Californians moving there caused a lot of changes in Las Vegas. Plus, the apartment complex I wanted to move to was now managed by a man that I knew I could not get along with. I returned to Oklahoma, leased an apartment, and settled in, at least until November of this year. But, I have van repairs and a possible van build to make that will probably keep me here much longer.
This post pretty much describes where I am at this time in my life. I am slowly recovering from an illness that started not long after I left Oklahoma for my first failed attempt at returning to Nevada in 2021. As of today, I have finally finished one computer/photo project and I am ready to get some work done on my van before starting some weekend warrior van life work with my camera equipment.
Yes, there has been a dry spell in my posting. My last post was on June 26, so it has been a few months. And, for the next two months, I expect to make very few if any, posts. Instead, I plan to try to sit at home, save money, do some work on my van, get back in decent health, and get ready for cooler weather for boon-docking in the Oklahoma and Texas areas. I hope to develop a website for travel photography during the Fall of 2023. Then, for the next few months of Winter, I will try to once again hibernate and save money for a springtime trip to Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Many years ago I had a choice. I could stay where I was or leave. Alcohol had already ruined my life. My biggest fear was that I would physically hurt my family before I committed suicide. Even after I left I fought the urge to commit suicide and alcoholism for years. The two good things about my second marriage were two more children and saving me from suicide.
It is in my prayers that before I die I can return to live in or near the Las Vegas Valley. It is where my friends are. The VA Hospital is there. The Southern Nevada Veterans Home is there if I live long enough to use it and can qualify. I am not a gambler but I enjoy walking The Strip, Fremont Street, and the outlying casinos. I have more than two years of experience in photographing community, regional, state, and national parks in southern Nevada. And, I hope to continue my camera work there. Places to dine and drink are abundant and forever changing. And mostly, I love the desert. This is where I hope to live and die.
