When I was a small child, I thought that if I was strong like a superhero and never cried, then nothing would hurt me. This belief stuck with me from childhood through my teens and into my early twenties. Sometime around age 22, I realized this didn’t work. But after meeting my (future) wife and becoming…
Category: On The Road
Goodbye Sweet Tiger Lilly
Today Lilly left with her new owner to go to her new home. Lilly was my everyday companion for the past 3.5 years. We got her a few months after our two other cats died and I came up with a scheme to get a kitten for my grieving wife. Two hours later we returned…
Ashes
In my hallway closet there are two boxes of ashes. One box contains the cremated remains of my daughter Liz, who died in 2006. The second box contains my wife’s ashes. After Liz died, Ellen and I held onto her ashes. Early on, we discussed putting them at the base of an ancient live oak…
The Naked Truth About My Clothes
If you had asked me to describe my relationship with my clothing, I would have told you I was a minimalist. I would have said I was anti-consumerist. I would have explained how my clothing did not define me, that I didn’t care about fashion and that I could easily get rid of most of…
Saying Goodbye to Buster
I had to say goodbye to my cat Buster today. We adopted Buster from a rescue organization when she was less than 10 weeks old. We learned that Buster’s mother was seen running across a street and getting hit by a car. The person who witnessed this saw something fall out of the cat’s mouth….
Getting Rid of Everything
I’ve moved 19 times in my life. My wife and I rented 4 homes, bought 6 and sold 5 of them together. As I mentioned in a recent post, since my wife died last year, I’d been thinking about selling my home. Well, the thinking is over. I listed my house this week and have already…
Letting Go of Lilly and Buster
One of the things I’ve agonized over is how to travel with my two cats Lilly and Buster. At first, I figured I’d buy a large trailer that could fit their litter box and give them several places to hang out inside. They would travel in the car with me and the dog. I’d keep…
Going On The Road
Since my wife died two months ago, it’s been terrible. I’ve been struggling just to get through each day. Not only was Ellen my wife, she was my best friend, she was my partner and she was my reason for living. Without her, I’ve lost meaning, purpose and direction. I wanted to take care of…
Going Off The Grid Or Off My Rocker?
Lately I’ve been thinking about selling my home, selling most of my possessions, buying a small trailer and living off the grid. If I did this right, I could retire (to a life of austerity). This was not a possibility when my wife Ellen was alive. When I told her I could retire early if we…