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A Day in the Life: Abandoned by the Sea Part Seven
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Posted by tomasi Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:16:18 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments As our plans solidified for the move to Oregon, it occurred to us that we didn’t have enough capital to finance the move, or enough to live on until that first paycheck.

So, after picking our brains, trying to come up with any source of ready cash, our sights fell on my State Teacher’s Retirement. We got the papers and filled them out.

A representative from STRS immediately called me and asked that I think twice before depleting my eight-year savings.

Even though he politely gave me the “You’ll be sorry” story, I went ahead. After all, that $7,000 was mighty appealing.

My principal, Jerry, tried to dissuade me from emptying my retirement fund, but I told him we were never coming back to California — never. (What is that saying about never saying never?)

Well, in spite of the advice, we soon had the check in hand and were ready to go.

Since we were moving into a new home, we carefully went through our belongings and pared them down as much as we could. We then contracted a local mover to load and ship our things to California.

Even though they were to load the day after we left, under the scrutiny of our family, Debbie and I laughed that the moving van would probably pass us on the way north and we wouldn’t be there to receive the goods. When we voiced our concerns to the representative, he assured us that in the event of such a happening, our belongings would be stored in Coos Bay until they were needed, so there was really no need to worry.

So, with plenty of cash, we loaded our tiny Ford Fiesta with suitcases and our unhappily drugged cat, JB. Just before we left, Alex and Diane came by to wish us well, and to remind us of the promise to “watch” the theater until they arrived at the end of the summer. In the midst of all our excitement, I had nearly forgotten that rash promise, but since Debbie was so positive that we could do it, I smiled and kept my mouth shut.

The trip to Oregon was pretty uneventful. We marveled at the wonderful scenery, the wide open spaces, the breathtaking views. It was late one evening that we rolled into Coos Bay, just twenty miles north of Bandon. It was late and the movers were not open, so we got a motel and settled down for the night. The next morning, we ate an early breakfast and Debbie then called Peggy. I stood outside the phone booth while Debbie talked. When I saw the smile fade from my wife’s face, I knew we were in trouble. After talking for five minutes, she hung up the phone and slowly came out.

“The house isn’t finished,” she blurted out.

“What?” I shrieked, “So what do we do now?”

“Don’t worry,” Debbie said, “Peggy has it all under control.”

That "control" was the apartment she had rented for us. It was reasonably priced, but the catch was that it was unfurnished. We regrouped and decided that we would have to get into our belongings and remove enough to use in the apartment. While we waited for Peggy to meet us at the motel, I quickly called the local branch of the moving company, and explained that we needed to get into our things. Well, it appeared that our load not only wasn’t there, it hadn’t even left California. I went ballistic, but the representative kept his cool, stated that we would have to wait until he notified us, then hung up.

Now, it was my turn to bring bad tidings. When I told Debbie that it was a double whammy, I saw her resolve falter for the first time in this entire enterprise. However, we decided to find a K-Mart and buy only what we would need for a few days. Of course, we were banking on the idea that our house would be finished within days.

When we met Peggy, she announced that the “charming” apartment was actually the third floor of an old Victorian house, high atop Coos Bay’s Telegraph Hill, which sounded interesting enough. Besides, what choices did we have? We were new to town with nowhere to stay; we had to make the best of the situation.

After driving up a windy road, we arrived at the house, which looked like a set from Psycho. We paid the rent to the dour looking couple, then used the outside staircase to bring our pitifully few belongings up to the apartment. What we had been told was a third floor actually was a converted attic with a few dormers and sloping ceilings. After a few bumps to the head, we learned very quickly that it was best to walk in the middle of each room. We put JB into the bathroom with his litter box, food and water so he would feel right at home. From a large storage closet in the apartment we pulled a lumpy mattress, and after one look at the cramped bedroom, we drug the mattress into the living room.

Then, without even going off to buy sheets, we flopped down on the dusty mattress and instantly fell asleep. Exhausted, a little shaken, but determined not to let Oregon break us, we slept until dawn.

         

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