Thursday August 9, I posted my 1999 Toyota Camry on Craigslist at 2:15 pm and by 9:00 pm that night the car was sold and I had $3850 cash in hand. The fellow who bought my car wanted it for his daughter, a sophomore at UC Santa Cruz. He seemed really happy with his purchase, and with good reason. It is a terrific car, and well taken care of.
I bought the car from the Toyota Dealership in 2003, in Metairie, Louisiana (I was living in New Orleans at the time) when it only had 36,600 miles. A two toned silver, it was a Certified Used Toyota, and a beautiful vehicle. I really enjoyed that car. Drove it across the country to California with my Cat in 2004. Now both my Toyota and the Cat have been lifted from me.
And here is a photo of the last I saw of the Toyota before Mary, her 19 year old driver, took her away:
A chapter in life has ended and a new chapter is about to begin. One more week before I leave for Washington DC, on Monday August 20. Today, I booked a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express at the Oakland Airport, for Sunday August 19. My friend Limor and her husband Josh will take me there Sunday afternoon. And in the morning I'll get up and take a shuttle to the Oakland Airport. I am packed and ready to go!
Last week I wrote a couple of prose poems and it occurred to me that I could post them here. This is the first one:
Listening to the Radio
Listening all day to the radio about the effects on 300,000 people’s
lives after the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki is damned depressing. Just last week I was reading about social reformer Juan Emilio Bosch Gavino and his election in the Dominican Republic as President. Lyndon
Johnson's response to Bosch was to send Marines (Operation Powerpack) down to
the DR to thwart his reforms, just as some real progress on behalf of human
rights for Dominicans became possible. FDR called
Long time Dominican Dictator Trujillo a bastard, “But he’s OUR bastard,” he
famously stated. US
Imperialism is a quite a legacy, one I’m really feeling sad about today today.
Here's my second piece:
On My Way to the Dominican Republic (Really Soon)
James Howard Kuntsler says the grocery shelves will be empty
and there’ll be martial law in the US by November. Good thing I’m getting out of the country, just in the nick
of time. It’s a little daunting though…getting rid of nearly
everything, including the car... My good friend Alex gave me a big gleaming smile yesterday,
saying,” Man, you must have really wanted a
change to be doing something like this…I can’t imagine myself doing what you’re
doing.”
In the beautifully appointed Bodega Bay home in which we meet, no financial implosion seems remotely evident--views of the Pacific Ocean are calming; and the rolling hills feel peaceful. I admire the matching pottery as I lift bowls from the kitchen shelves. Oh, how I enjoy tasteful, matching pottery. Until I don’t. And next thing I’m taking it all to the Salvation Army.
I would have had a lot of matching everything if I hadn’t left it all behind at one time or another.
“Living in the Dominican Republic can be frustrating, as
well as challenging,” a woman named Kate emails in response to my query about
her life. Kate still lives in the DR twenty years after her service as
a Peace Corps Volunteer ended. She adds, “But life is never boring here, and nothing is
ever routine.”
Lee Haworth, August 6, 2012
Wow! You sold that car pretty fast! Well, it looks like it’s been taken care of and almost new in the photos, so it doesn’t come as a surprise. That buyer’s pretty lucky to have gotten a sweet deal for that car! Well, with only 36,600 miles on it, I’m pretty sure it’ll still last for many more years. I just hope he will take care of it the way you did.
ReplyDelete*Dante Mallet