NoIncomeNoKids

My grandfather lives by himself in a town called Hobart Indiana. He has 2 bionic knees. He likes to sing in choir, he loves to cook. He is awesome with his hands because he’s a carpenter. He drives a shiny black Chrysler and likes to swim on Thursdays.

My grandfather is 92 years old.

Roy and I went to dinner at his place Monday afternoon. He cooked red beans, rice, and chicken while Roy installed a new hard drive on his computer. The day before, he tried to burn a cd, but the disc was cracked. It shattered in the drive, and we couldn’t get it to open for the longest time. Once we were able to get it open and sweep out some of the pieces, we couldn’t get it to close. Roy popped the machine open, and we took the drive apart to shake out more of the pieces, but once we got it put back together, it skipped when playing a music disc. So, new drive for the machine.

Dinner was awesome, and it was good to talk with Papa. When I got laid off, I was embarrassed to tell him at first. Once I did tell him, he told me to cheer up, because I am not my job. He talked about what it was like during the depression, and how when things are rough, spirit counts for more than vocation. When I started to build the trailer, he was very impressed, not with my building ability, because I really didn’t have any, but because I had the gumption to try in the first place. Now that we’re roaming the country dragging said trailer behind us, it’s made the trip much easier, but it made the prospect of taking the trip in the first place much easier to consider. This time around, Papa says he’s proud and impressed with us, not because the two of us got laid off, but because we had the gumption to say “to hell with it” and hit the road instead of stewing at home. And he believes that when you take a chance on the world, the world will take a chance on you.

More and more on this trip, we’ve been meeting new people and catching up with old people, but the common theme heard in almost all of our interactions is “why not?”

Ever get the feeling the world is trying to tell you something?

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coping, intro, status update by courtney