Home is where the loved ones are

[serene]

[reposted from alt.poly]

Today, I move through my apartment, saying goodbye-and-Goodwill to
things I don't mind parting with. Then I take up that first string of
belongings, that stuff that has managed to make it through countless
cullings over the last few years, and put it into boxes and bins. I
will slap little tags on the boxes to tell myself where the things will
go, which is an exercise in optimism, because really, they have no home
right now, my things.

I know people without homes. I see more that I don't know every day. I
know that it's not out of the realm of possibility that some day I will
not have a home.

I do have a home, though. I may not have a next-apartment lined up. I
may not have a place to put these things, short of finding a place by
the end of the month or renting storage, but I have a place to be. I
have several places. I have a love in San Leandro who will not let me
sleep in my car. I have a love in Santa Rosa, likewise. And I have
friends who love me and will not let me fall. So I may not have a next
house, but I do have a home. I do. It's wherever the people who love
me are, and there are lots of them.

I am rich. So, so rich.

Comments

If you need hep...here I yam!

[bayarts.livejournal.com]

You also have a friend who lives at the foot of the Alameda bridge. (Oakland side) Please let me know if there is anything at all I can do to help once you get here. I have sent you my phone # in the past, yes? If not, email me and I'll send it again. bayarts4u at yahoo... Also....I highly recommend that you look at Alameda as a place to live. VERY close to San Leandro, pretty, charming, affordable and has a gentle, easy spirit.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

You are such a dear darling. Thank you very much. I'm not sure how I lucked into having such good people in my life, but I'll take it.

(probably have your number around somewhere, and thanks for the tip on Alameda. Is there an area where lots of stuff is in walking distance? We have a car, but prefer to walk when possible.)

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[bayarts.livejournal.com]

We live on the Oakland side of the bridge from Alameda and going across that bridge and into the island is one of our favorite places to walk. The main street ( Park) will take you anywhere you want to be. It runs from the Oakland side to the Bay and there is shopping all along the way, with a mall (w/Trader Joes!!!) at the Bay end. There is a plethora of apartments within blocks of there from cheap ones in houses to fancy, pricier ones and everything in between. It's sort of a sleepy little community, but very friendly. Down side is that you would have to drive to the BART, but that isn't a far drive at all, and that will take you into Berkeley, et al. Closest one is the Fruitvale off of San Leandro...within blocks of our loft...so, of course, you'd have to drop by for tea and scones every time you went anywhere on BART. I'll keep a fresh supply baked up for ya...
Thank you for your very kind words. I've been goin through a rough patch in my life. A small act of kindness goes a long way with me right now.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I wish I could make the hurt less. You're such a generally peaceful and warm presence that I hate to see that disturbed by pain and sadness. And oh my gosh, tea with you would be great. We're gonna try to stay on the BART so that having stonebender over is easier, but we're keeping our options open. Ideally, we'll also find an accessible apartment, but that can be difficult. We'll see.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[bayarts.livejournal.com]

Thanks, S.

FYI _ the Fruitvale BART is 5 minutes away from Alameda.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

the Fruitvale BART is 5 minutes away from Alameda.

On foot, or driving?

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

There are buses that go to both Fruitvale BART and Lake Merrit BART. If this doesn't take you to the .pdf file, let me know, and I'll email it to you. (http://www.transitinfo.org/frames/external.asp?url=http%3A%2F%2F198%2E94%2E156%2E9%2FAC%2F)

Alameda is *wonderful*.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much. We need to be on the BART line itself, though. Buses are fine for me, but what we're looking for is a place that stonebender can get to, and he doesn't (for many reasons I'd be happy to go into) do buses unless it's unavoidable. What I need is something that's within a shortish (10-15 minutes max?) walk from a BART station, and I think we'll be able to do that.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

You should be able to do that easily. And just FYI, the Fremont BART is about a 15-minute walk from my house. Just sayin' :). Should you ever find yourself there, you know, after getting on BART somewhere else. La la la.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Sweetie. Honey. Darling. If you think you're not gonna get SICK of me dropping by on a regular basis, you're insane.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[bayarts.livejournal.com]

Driving. Is about 15-17 minutes walking.

Re: If you need hep...here I yam!

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

'kay, thanks. I should have sussed that out, but I'm starting to be overwhelmed by all the details. Thank goodness I can come back and refer to these threads. :-)

Ack! Where does the time go...

[tinyhand.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you need a place to stay here in SD until you leave, or when you're leaving, but if you do, just lemme know - me casa es su casa! (although I probably don't have a lot of room for "stuff" - but playing tetris must be good for something, eh? *grin*).

Otherwise - I wish you safe travels and a wonderful new life in the northern lands! *many hugs*