Crossroads

Thinking about homelessness constantly is beginning to take a huge toll on the oversized cranium. Unlike my homeless buddy, I don't look forward to any homeless adventure, sheltered or unsheltered. Yet, I have no other options. So, the only question is: when?

Of course, even if I found a decent room rental in shared quarters, I am not too keen about dealing with other foolish tenants. My experience at Chaos Manor (read: rental housing) has really jaded me. If I am paying over $700 per month, I would expect to be residing with other human beings, not chimpanzees. In most cases, I would be better off in a homeless shelter. For the token rent (i.e., $60 to $90), I can tolerate moderate levels of stupidity and even petty theft.

Life in empire is way too complicated for me. My retirement dream has always been simple. A small, quiet place of reasonable rent to sleep and maybe call "home." A simple café where I can relax and enjoy a cup of good coffee without exposure to snobbery or stupidity. A gym where I can perform a leisurely workout and take a hot shower. A nice evening venue to enjoy a good dinner. A town-like environment where I can walk around without the threat of being arrested for loitering. A place where I neither need an automobile or mass transit to get around. The simple life. Where can it be found?

Time is passing quickly. And, with each passing day, I wonder more and more about how many "good years" that I have left. My concern for the latter has increased drastically since I had last seen the prematurely aging Les. Of course, that also raises the curious issue of why I continue to drag out the "blog." Even though there are hundreds of pictures of hotties still awaiting inclusion in the "blog," that's not a good reason. Heck, I can barely compose eight paragraphs of text with "substance."

Instead of fulfilling a variety of tasks that has been piling up, I did absolutely nothing of the sort. Upon arriving in town, I ended up at the fast food joint. Upon procuring a cup of mediocre coffee, I composed the "blog" using the cheap "smartphone" and the free wireless Net access. An old codger was sitting at a nearby table. I was privy to hear him chomping on his food with his mouth wide open. As I have stated previously in the "blog," old codgers need not worry about impressing anyone. I certainly wasn't impressed.

I may as admit that the obstacle to the homeless decision is my inability to make proper cost projections. In addition, I have no contingencies in the event of plan failure. All I know is that not going the homeless route will cost me about $1,200 per month minimum just for rental housing and owning a motor vehicle. If I decided to forsake my own vehicle and rent an automobile twice weekly for my usual Hawai'i Kai visits, the rental expense would be about $240 per month. Not much of a difference.

The only option that can cut expenses significantly is homelessness. Even owning a homeless motorhome (read: luxury minivan) would be more cost effective, so to speak. The entire matter appears ludicrous because, at its root, the conundrum centers on my need to preserve my visits with moms. Overall, there is no way that I can continue any option longer than three to five years. We already know that moms will live on to be 120 years of age. That's 27 years from now. I will either deplete my savings considerably, or I will be too old to continue to "jump through the hoops" just to facilitate the visits.

So, there we have it, the crux of the problem, with no easy solution. The most logical solution is to cut my losses and just move on. So, that's where we stand today. The proverbial crossroads. Anyway, the rest of the day ... same ol' shit. No evening outing in Kahala.