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| Houseless Journal, Issue #8, July 1994 Our camper, which is also this newsletter's editorial office, took an unexpected spill a week ago, forcing us to make some hasty changes in our agenda. To wit: Rick and I took off from Eugene on June 13 to hit some of our favorite places in Oregon: first of all, Memaloose Park which we hadn't seen in two years. From there we decided to go to Deer Creek by way of Highway 197 from the Dalles. We had never been on this road before, and were very much enjoying the ususual rural scenery. But we were also somewhat apprehensive about the extremely windy conditions which were causing the camper to sway back and forth to an alarming degree. We thought we could make it safely to Bend, though. We stopped at a rest area where I made a call to Whitebird to tell them why I couldn't make my weekly counseling appointment, then continued on down the road. About half an hour later it happened: a sharp gust of wind caught the camper and flipped it right off the truck. I didn't understand at first why Rick was making this sudden panic stop; then I looked over and saw our newly-bought house sprawled on its side in the middle of the road. Our first concern was for our two cats and four newborn kittens who were inside. Rick crawled in and managed to dig them all out; thank the Goddess they were all alive and uninjured! There was considerable damage to the camper, though. A truck full of National Guardsmen happened to be in the vicinity and stopped to help us; a few minutes later a Jefferson County sheriff showed up and called a towing company in Madras, the nearest town. The next thing we knew, our damaged truck and camper (now separate) were safely parked in the front yard of the towing company, and the owner of said company was introducing us to a friend of his who had a lawn service company and was in urgent need of some help. So at 9:00 the next morning we were off to work, helping him clean up and weed a couple of lots. We also worked for him the following two days. This experience has, needless to say, introduced us to some wonderfully kind and generous people who have leaned over backwards to help us in any way they can. (So not everyone is prejudiced against the homeless!) It has given us a much-needed respite from the city, and a chance to re-assess our lives and our relationship in this quiet, unhurried setting. In other words, this apparent disaster has in some ways been a blessing in disguise. So, how are the other ex-car campers faring? Anyone else have any exciting stories? This newsletter's mailing address is still at Whitebird, though at this point I'm not sure how soon we'll be checking back in Eugene. I was determined, however, to try and put out the July issue on schedule in spite of these seeming setbacks. (I am typing this on our boss's computer!) Fortunately none of the newsletter material I had previously collected had been damaged in the crash--and that, of course, next to the cats and ourselves, is the most important thing--right? So, in the hopes that I can continue cranking out an issue every month, NO MATTER WHERE WE ARE OR WHAT HAS HAPPENED, please continue sending in your stuff... (click here to view next page) |
| GREETINGS FROM MADRAS, OREGON! |