JohnHarrelson
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- Jul 3, 2018
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Rose and Ziggy, her brother, both retired on Social Security, bought an older motor home in early 1990's and spent the next few years traveling around the west.
In 2000 they stopped (Ziggy's pace maker giving him problems) in Carson City at the RV park where I met them.
Then three years later her brother died and of course his Social Security check stopped..
Now all alone and trying to live only on her S.S. check of $ 518.00, she could not afford to travel anymore so she stuck it out for another two years in the RV park....paying $400 per month for the RV Park space and trying to buy propane, food, medicine, insurance, even buying simple things like toothpaste...
she tried so hard ,,, but finally she had two choices left... die of a stroke or heart attack from lack of blood pressure medicine or die of starvation from the lack of food, whichever came first ..... or ..... park on the street.
I helped her when I could afford it and she would allow me too, sharing my food and medicines, but it was not enough, she was forced to move her motor home onto the "streets"..
She had no way to stay warm in the motor home because the furnace did not work.
She had no way to use the cook stove because she could not afford propane.
She had no generator so there were no lights, television or microwave.
BUT....... now she could afford the medicine to keep her alive.
....... now she had enough food to keep her alive, barely;
BUT ...... now she had no neighbors to step next door and talk with.
...... now she was all alone in this very cold, cold world...
BUT ...... she was alive .... if you can call that being alive...
First she parked it in a local casino's RV lot, but there was a time limit of three days.
So then she went to the Wal-Mart south of town for one night, then to the Wal-Mart north of town for one night, then she parked on the street for another night before going back to the casino's RV lot..
The simple act of starting up the engine and moving to another parking space was destructive to the small budget she lived on.
She was eligible for all sorts of welfare and other free services, but she refused to accept charity.... She is very independent and a strong willed woman..
Finally, in fall of 2005 she allowed herself to go to the local "Gov.Services Pantry" and once a month she received a box of Government issued food rations..
But she still would not use any state welfare programs like ,doctors, senior financial assistance, food stamps, etc. Thats for the poor people she said.
I guess what I'm trying to say folks, is that we all, myself included, laugh or shake our heads at things like old RVs in a Wal-Mart parking lot or we complain about some of the old ratty RVs setting up on blocks in an otherwise nice RV park..
And yes, I'm only human, so I would smile and chuckle or turn up my nose when I saw things like that,, but it only last a brief moment because the image of my dear friend Rose immediately pops into my thoughts..and all of a sudden I'm ashamed of myself.
When you are old and alone, the world can be a very scary and depressing place, I know about it first hand...
I lived in my car for two months during the winter months of January and February, eating one 99 cent meal per day at a local casino, unable to buy gas for the car or insurance and tags so I could drive it... I could not even buy a bottle of cold medicine because I was surviving on my National Guard drill check of $87 per month.
So, having been there and survived, I no longer laugh or turn up my nose when I see old, rundown RV trailers sitting up on cinder blocks or the ratty looking, patched up or home-made RVs parked at Wal-Mart..
instead I say "thank you God, for everything you have given me, both the good things and the bad things, for without the bad, I would not have recognized the good"
So here's to you Rose ..... wherever you are tonight, I'm thinking about you ...
God Bless
John
In 2000 they stopped (Ziggy's pace maker giving him problems) in Carson City at the RV park where I met them.
Then three years later her brother died and of course his Social Security check stopped..
Now all alone and trying to live only on her S.S. check of $ 518.00, she could not afford to travel anymore so she stuck it out for another two years in the RV park....paying $400 per month for the RV Park space and trying to buy propane, food, medicine, insurance, even buying simple things like toothpaste...
she tried so hard ,,, but finally she had two choices left... die of a stroke or heart attack from lack of blood pressure medicine or die of starvation from the lack of food, whichever came first ..... or ..... park on the street.
I helped her when I could afford it and she would allow me too, sharing my food and medicines, but it was not enough, she was forced to move her motor home onto the "streets"..
She had no way to stay warm in the motor home because the furnace did not work.
She had no way to use the cook stove because she could not afford propane.
She had no generator so there were no lights, television or microwave.
BUT....... now she could afford the medicine to keep her alive.
....... now she had enough food to keep her alive, barely;
BUT ...... now she had no neighbors to step next door and talk with.
...... now she was all alone in this very cold, cold world...
BUT ...... she was alive .... if you can call that being alive...
First she parked it in a local casino's RV lot, but there was a time limit of three days.
So then she went to the Wal-Mart south of town for one night, then to the Wal-Mart north of town for one night, then she parked on the street for another night before going back to the casino's RV lot..
The simple act of starting up the engine and moving to another parking space was destructive to the small budget she lived on.
She was eligible for all sorts of welfare and other free services, but she refused to accept charity.... She is very independent and a strong willed woman..
Finally, in fall of 2005 she allowed herself to go to the local "Gov.Services Pantry" and once a month she received a box of Government issued food rations..
But she still would not use any state welfare programs like ,doctors, senior financial assistance, food stamps, etc. Thats for the poor people she said.
I guess what I'm trying to say folks, is that we all, myself included, laugh or shake our heads at things like old RVs in a Wal-Mart parking lot or we complain about some of the old ratty RVs setting up on blocks in an otherwise nice RV park..
And yes, I'm only human, so I would smile and chuckle or turn up my nose when I saw things like that,, but it only last a brief moment because the image of my dear friend Rose immediately pops into my thoughts..and all of a sudden I'm ashamed of myself.
When you are old and alone, the world can be a very scary and depressing place, I know about it first hand...
I lived in my car for two months during the winter months of January and February, eating one 99 cent meal per day at a local casino, unable to buy gas for the car or insurance and tags so I could drive it... I could not even buy a bottle of cold medicine because I was surviving on my National Guard drill check of $87 per month.
So, having been there and survived, I no longer laugh or turn up my nose when I see old, rundown RV trailers sitting up on cinder blocks or the ratty looking, patched up or home-made RVs parked at Wal-Mart..
instead I say "thank you God, for everything you have given me, both the good things and the bad things, for without the bad, I would not have recognized the good"
So here's to you Rose ..... wherever you are tonight, I'm thinking about you ...
God Bless
John
