Me. A few years back.
*****
My name is Keith Birmingham. I am 75 years old, on VA Disability and Social Security, and have medical problems that, for now, have kept me from going back to my 35-year profession as an over-the-road trucker. I have been retired since November 2009, but have been working toward returning to this profession to pay for the debts incurred below and to be able to travel again.
Three weeks ago I was all set to fulfill a 7-year dream of moving to Boulder City, NV. A friend of mine who lives in Las Vegas texted that he was going to Boulder City to shop in the antique stores there. I asked him to check with management at the low-income apartment complex I have been trying to get into to see if I was even still on their list. And yes, I was still on their list, and the manager was trying to get in touch with those who were still ahead of me. I was #6 on his list. He had been unable to contact others who were ahead of me and was willing to talk to me about it so my friend called me. I told them I had too many bills at this time and could not afford it. But, my friend broke in and asked me how much I would need to make the move. He said he would foot the bill to get me moved. I refused, but we talked for a bit and I finally told them I would be there. All we had to do was finish the paperwork.
But my dreams were shattered, again. I had to call and talk to the manager. I told him my complete financial situation, that I had saved enough money once again to pay the people back the money they had helped me with about 1.5 years ago when I had to spend $7000 for a new motor for my van. Two months later I was rear-ended in that van, another $7000 damage. (Yes, the insurance paid on the crash. That will be explained in another post.) So, today I still owe almost $7000 on a van that I will be lucky to get $3000 for if I sell it. And, I am currently in the process of wrapping up some medical appointments and still hoping to try to return to my previous profession as an over-the-road trucker to pay off this van so that I could sell it or completely rebuild it and keep it. I was just trying to do the right thing. But, today I found out my van needs another $2500+ in repairs. I apologized to him but said I could not take the money from my friend, pay for having my van fixed, or pay the people that I owed for helping me when the motor blew in my van. So, I worked a deal with him to stay on the list while I tried to raise some money.
When the motor blew in my van I ran a "GoFundMe" page for about a week, but I just could not keep asking for help. It was making me sick. I closed the page after only a week and had raised $540. More repairs on my van have cost me the money I had saved to pay back those who gave to my "GoFundMe" page from 1.5 years ago. But, now I have no choice. What I want to do is raise at least enough money to repair this van. I may then pay this van off, get rid of it, and make a down payment on a vehicle that is no more than 8-10 years old. Repairing and paying off the van, getting rid of it, and purchasing another vehicle will cost around $10,000. However, as of now, I will only be trying to raise enough to repair the van, which is around $3,000.
If you can see your way to donate any money to my cause please DONATE via Cash App to support this site @ $VanManHKB. My Zelle and Venmo IDs will also soon be posted in the top right column. Thank you.