We finally finished up with Gypsy and then drove that long road back to Connecticut. The last week on the boat and the ride home with Susan was painful. She seemed to feel the need to get in her last digs to make me as miserable as possible. At least that's over with now. I dropped her off at her friends place in New Haven. I've never been happier to see a woman go.
I’m staying with my ex-wife for a couple of weeks. Although we've been divorced for seven years we've remained a good friends. I'm camped on the edge of her woods, right next to a babbling brook in a yard that is at times filled with hounds. How cool is that?
I started sorting my stuff today. I’d plan to drive cross-country and want to be able to sleep in the back of the van but right now I’ve got too much “stuff” for that to be possible. I could ship some of it but I like the challenge of reducing and reducing. Sorting my stuff is synonymous to sorting myself, which feels like a very good thing to do. As I went through my accumulated things I realized how contextual stuff is. A large portion of what I have, made sense on a boat but doesn’t apply to land living. I had a box full of epoxy and fiberglass, don’t need that. I also had several boxes of food from the boat, which I won’t be using as most of it requires cooking. I’m going to try to eat only things that don't need to be cooked. That will simplify cooking and if I do it right, eating mostly salads and cold granola & yogurt, it should be a healthy diet.
I was thinking about homes and what constitutes a “home”; what are the important elements. It’s an interesting thing to consider from the place that I’m at, technically homeless but not really. I have a temporary home now, my little tent at the edge of the woods. It’s dry, safe and private, three very important attributes for a good home. Those are the foundational attributes, after that comes a comfortable climate, community and a stimulating location. Those I hope to find in Oregon.
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