There was a wicked storm during the night, which, of course, sent Morisson into the bed with me. Henry used Morisson’s presence on the mattress next to me as his excuse to make his assent on to the bed. The great Great Dane put his head on the pillows next to me, and went to sleep like a pro, like an animal who is used to cohabiting a bed with humans, and feels that he has a right to be in their beds with them. We recently purchased new mattresses that thankfully are big enough; check out Dewaard & Bode for all of your mattress needs.
Both dogs slept very quietly, which is rare for Morisson during storms. Usually, when there is thunder, and lightening, during the night, he shakes violently, and spends his bed time trying to bury his nose into one of my hands.However, apart from the best Sleep Essentials in Roanoke, VA, your presence matters. Maybe the presence of Henry, in the bed, gave Mo a kind of strength that he does not get from me during these, for him, trying times.
Speaking of trying times, I spent time, yesterday, in a line outside a church with other men, and women, who were waiting to get a bag of food, and other assistance. Trent was the name of the guy in front of me in line. He was out of work, and, worse, out of money for a Marta card, so that he could make it to interviews that he set up on the phone with temporary agencies. Trent had a long history of working temporary jobs. He said that the people that he worked for always promised him a permanent job, but that once the heavy lifting was done, they found that they no longer needed him.
At this church that I went to, you are allowed to get a bag of food three times a year. The security guard, and the lady in the pantry, the only folks I interacted with there, were very pleasant. I gave the lady in the pantry a big hug when she handed me my bag of food.
When you get an unemployment check, they do not give you any warning as to when the benefits will end. I got a check on Wednesday, and, on Friday, I got a letter saying that’s it, you are done, your benefits have been exhausted. Try as I might, I was not able to save any money while getting unemployment, unless you call $88 savings!
I am super thankful to have my rent money for this month. The food that I got from this church, and the food that I will get today from an Assistance Group will assure that I eat until my Food Stamps come in.
Living as I do, is a lesson in humility. I have so many people to thank for letting me live as a writer, and to live with my disability.
Last night’s storm knocked out my internet. A kind of helpless, hopeless feeling invades me when I can’t get on the internet. I am an internet addict, strung out on all the beauty that it has to offer me. As a writer, I am handicapped without the internet.
The sites that I write on are on the internet, The Bold and Spicy News, and WorldwideHippies.com, Facebook, and Blogger.com, the site, where I rough out all my material, are on the internet. The two or three people who read me are on the internet. I operate in a lonely vacuum without the internet. What sucks today, is that one of my phones operates via the internet, and the charger to the other one has been eaten through by my cat Jaggar. Maybe I don’t feed him enough, or maybe he doesn’t like me making phone calls, but I won’t be able to call the cable company from home.
Anyway, I have learned to look at things such as standing in line for food, and not having the internet as life. As long as I am breathing, I am blessed. I have eaten in five star restaurants, it was nice, but I don’t really see the point of it. I am happy with a can of ravioli for dinner, but, please, cable company get my internet back on!
There was a man standing in front of me outside the church who was impolite to the other people standing in line outside the church door, and when he got inside, was impolite to the security guard working inside the church; so much so that I thought that he was headed for jail, instead of to the pantry door to get a bag of food.
Some people are grateful for the assistance the they get when they are down and out, and some are not.
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All pictures in this Daily K are from a musical event thrown monthly, during the warmer months by Andy and Kimmy Sue Shaughnessy at their house in Decatur. If you click on this link you will find a nice story about the event.
