My Place

My Place

         He sits there thinking about what brought him to this place. What happened; to take him from that wonderful life he had, to this; a point in his life where he had to start again.

         He thought to himself, “How many starts can a man have in his life?

I’m not one for change, but the nature of living promotes transitions form one life style to another. Other people seem to experience these changes differently, some easily and others with trepidation. From the time I could recognize when these changes took place, I would prepare for them and be ready to make the transition.

School to school, school to work force, being laid off and joining the Navy; that was a big one that I was not prepared for! Each time I found a safe haven to reflect, contemplate and decide on my next move. Now there is no one left to go to; my parents, uncles, aunts and cousins are all gone. I would not presume to press myself into my children’s lives, except to visit them. “

         Financially ruined by poor judgment and bad investments, he retired to a fixed income just prior to this new and unexpected catastrophe. He sits in this overpriced rental; a glorified studio apartment that is a one-room house. Save for some memorabilia and the cable TV, he would go off the deep end.

         Still having a strong technical background, he applied for jobs at both Home Depot and Lowe’s. Either of these jobs would be a big come down from the managerial positions he held in industry; but they would be a good supplement to his meager retirement.

         The hardest part was when his wife left. She was little help during the financial downfall. She continued her flamboyant life style when there was nothing left to support it; which compounded his credit problems. When he finally cut up the credit cards, she packed up and left.

         His daughter and two sons offered their help but being a proud individual he decided to tough it out on his own. So here he is, by himself, sixty-two years old, on a Saturday evening, eating popcorn, watching a good movie and making the best of a bad situation.

         He thinks and says, out loud, “Let’s see what tomorrow brings! The future is unwritten!”

W.C. = 389