Shadow has taken to the trailer nicely
Deciding what is actually needed has been a bit of a Zen experience. The key is simplicity. I am only taking a banjo, bazookie, a few hundred dollars worth of harmonicas and a fiddle. I am leaving behind a Dobro, my mandolin, a viola d’amore, two guitars and another banjo. My two gig homebrew computer was traded for a laptop, a laptop printer, scanner and a burner. Rounding things up was my cameras, a week’s supply of clothes and a cat and dog. My daughter in law is getting rid of the rest at a yard sale next week.
I have been chewing on the possibility of running away from home for some time. I have been in Saint Paul for some 9 years now and not only has the grass growing under my feet, it is growing into my feet. My youngest son is about to return to college from a stint in the army, being a much improved independent person who can look after himself. My eldest at 31, has a wonderful wife and three children whom I will miss. They are stuggling financially as are most young families today. Perhaps if I am not around to help it will be easier to find their way. I suspect that I have more faith in them than they do.
Of course that is just an excuse, and I know it. However, the burden owning a house and being a responsible citizen has been weighing on my Bohemian soul. The house and everything in it owns me, I don’t own it. It is a responsibility like having a wife and a child, a responsibility that I no longer want. At 63 I may be too old to be a Dharma bum, but I am going to try. Only this time instead of roughing it, I will be doing it fair comfort. Yeah, a dharma bum with a duplex, a 32 foot sailboat, a new SUV and a new travel trailer. The boat and trailer I own outright but I share the rest with the bank.
The cat refused to go out until the third day. On the fourth day he headed out in the evening, never to be seen again. About 3 AM the next morning I heard him franticly scratching at the door, but when I got there, he was gone. Neighbors sighted a fox with two kits the next day. I think the fox was laying for him, others have lost cats to them. This is really out in the country, as I had to stop the car next morning to allow a teen age moose to slowly amble across the road in front of me.