I've discovered the downside of homelessness: No Home!!
For seven months I've been celebrating the liberation of
being without a 'permanent' home, traveling, hanging out, moving on...at whim.
Loving being a gypsy. Now I'm back, hoping to re-settle on my favorite US
island long enough to process lessons, write, re-fill the coffers, and (bah
humbug)...no places, no rentals, no luck. I call Craigslist ads. Calls go
unreturned. I email, but have no wireless connection, and there's only one within walking distance, so online communication is tough. The local paper has a few ads, which I call with the same results. I
make requests of old Maui friends, Facebook friends. I go see a couple - yikes! (long, funny stories). It's a landlord's market...and a growing group of comrades gather each morning
at the coffee shop to jump on the wireless (hey, it was everywhere in
France...and much faster), check new ads, commiserate.
At a friend's suggestion I check out Senior Housing (via
a circuitous route which takes 4 stops - unlike Oregon which has one stop
senior shopping for all services). The people I need to leave my form with are
'out', so I leave it with another, who just calls to say I need to re-submit it
since I have to have an address on the form even if I don't have one. Did I
mention my temp phone (mine was pickpocket in Cannes, remember?) charges by the
minute, and I've already put $60 on it in 1 week?! Five hours later I am impatient, angry,
feeling the call to just move on...Thailand? New Zealand? Back to France?
Joel calls with a studio for 3 weeks...only $1500 plus
deposits. I do not jump. I would rather move on, but now my car is arriving,
and has no home either. hmmmmmmmm. I spy an ad for a small bedroom with shared
bathroom in Paia and get excited. OMG. How desperate can a girl get? Then some
light - a mainland friend with an empty Kihei condo...for 5 days. Breathing room (thanks, Holly). And good
friends live that side...and to those who wander, friends are the touchstones,
the extra joy added to the bucket full in a journeying lifestyle.
Most of us who tramp the globe have a certain sense -when
to stay, when to go. I'm certain I'll know the signs...to stay, to keep on
moving. Breathe! Smile! The sun's out, and it's another gorgeous island day!!
