Later that day I was informed that I was unable to stay at the same place as my girlfriend because of the fact that she was going to stay with her mom, who was still a guest of one of my girlfriend's ex-boyfriends. We called the local Salvation Army shelter and were iformed that there were no open beds. One of the things I had taken with me from the truck was my sleeping bag, and a blanket and pillow. I was taken to a state park nearby and as shown a park bench I could sleep on undisturbed. I took a book and my sleeping gear and settled in for the evening. A few hours later she showed back up with her sister, and they took me to an overpass only a mile from where my girlfriend was staying. This was actually an overpass that allowed the highway to cross a rather busy rail line, with trains coming at regular thirty-minute intervals. They left me with a pack of cigarettes an a tupperware dish full of bean soup. She came back an hour later to check on me, and spent nearly an hour with me before walking home. I was left alone now in a strange place with no home, and only a boxload of posessions to my name, which were being stored at the house my girlfriend was staying at. This included my cell phone. I sat there and pulled a smoke out of the pack, and reached in my pocket for a lighter, only to realize that my lighter was with her. I set out walking to the house where she was and upon arrival I knocked at the door. she came out with me and brought my lighter. She went back inside and emerged with her jacket and a pillow to come be with me under the overpass. We spent a long, nearly sleepless night on the embankment with occasional visits from curious wildlife. One opossum actually came down and nibbled on the beanie on the top of "The Hat" as I dozed.
The next day we spent in town looking for a place to stay. I still had about $150.00 and a rented camcorder that I could pawn. We got enough to get a small pay by the week motel room, and checked in for a week. We took turns wearing "The Hat" during the week. When our stay ended we were broke, and homeless once again. We called the Salvation Army and found a bed was open, so I checked in there with only the clothing on my back and "The Hat". She went back to stay with her mom. She had all my other clothes and was goingto wash them and brng them to me. Two days later I received a message at the front desk that I was to call her. I called from a pay phone figuring that my clothes were done, andI was i for a shock. She informed me that we were through and that she was going on the road with Rob. I was devastated. I spent the next month agonizing over the loss until I was invited to a local church. I had nothing formal to wear, but was told that all were accepted regardless of dress, or looks. I went that first Sunday and was hooked. I went two more weeks, and finally answered the alter call on the third. I stil had only several t-shirts and pairs of jeans to wear, and "The Hat". I was wearing "The Hat" when I got saved.
A couple of weeks later a guy drove into the parking lot looking for hired help. I accepted the offer and was put to work as a day laborer offloading materials for im at his various construction projects. We had several conversations and he learned that I had a carpentry certification and prior roofing experience. He immediately put me on as foreman in charge of his projects. I was t be paid on a per job basis. As I finished a job I was to be paid a percentage of his take. Unlike most foremen I wa actually responsible for doing the job whilst managing crews of day laborers. I worked for him approximately 2 weeks before the girlfriend decided she was ready o cme back to me. He put her to work under me as part of the ground clean-up crew on roofing projects. He also paid for a motel room for she and I so as to get me out of the Salvation Army. I still had not to this point received any pay from him. He would always seem to find a reason not to finish a job, but not before receiving the balance of his draw from the customer. I would then be blamed for not finishing the job.
After two weeks in the motel he informed us that he had leased a storefront on the main street of town which had a back room that she and I could stay in. He intended to turn it into a junk shop and stock it with yard sale leftovers that people would give away.She was to run the shop while I still managed his work crew. Upon moving in we were told that we could use nyting from the shop we wanted, and as long as we gave him 2 weeks notice before quitting, that we could take everything with us. If were were to leave without this notice we were to take othing, including that which we brought in ourselves. The room was dependant upon our employment. We had no privacy as he felt that he could come and go as he pleased in and out of our room.
One project he had won the bid on was a roofing job in Kansas City, Missouri. The day we were to start the job th entire crew showed up at the shop. The tools were nowbeing stored there, and were mine and my girlfriend's responsibility at night.We loaded the tools and the boss and 4 of us crew members set out for Kansas City about an hour south of St. Joseph. About halfway there the tailgate fell open. I was riding in the back of the truck with another guy. We reached to pul t back up, and "The Hat" blew off and back down the highway behind us. Just as it hit the pavement a semi ran over it and threw it back into the air. It was struck by two cars before I lost sight of it as it flew into the median. Taking note of the next mile marker, I hollered to the boss, and he just laughed and kept driving. He told me that we would get it on the way home that evening only if I could spot it as we drove past. On the drive home that evening I was desperately hoping for a glimpse of it laying in the area where I had seen it last. No such luck. For two weeks straight we drove that stretch of highway until one day I noticed that they were mowing the median. They were working south to north an were only five miles from where I had last seen "The Hat". I was growng desperate and craning my neck in that area everytime we passed. On what was to be the day that the mowers worked that area, I asked him if he could please allow me to walk the median to look for my hat. He allowed me, and I found it laying at the entrance to a culvert covered in thick grass, the bill buried in an inch of mud. It was dirty and had a heck of a black mark from the truck tire but it was "The Hat", and it was fnally back in my possession.
We soon grew tired of not being paid and always being at his beck and call, so we instigated a plan to leave late at night and go stay with friend outside of town. As his rules stated, we left everything behind. He was very upset and tracke us down, yet we refused to come back. It was November in northwest Missouri and was becoming cold. The friend we stayed with turned out to be a major pervert, and we felt uneasy living in his house. My girlfriend's sister lived outside in a small two-room 12 ft by 6 foot shed. We moved out with her. It was full of drafts and had large mouse-chewed holes in the walls. There was no plumbing, and only a coffee maker, microwave and small refrigerator all powered by an extension cord running to the main house.
There was one bed , and the sister used that. My girlfrend and I slept on the floor. The temperature at night was falling no the 20's and snow threatened often. My girlfriend and I kept warm by having sex regardless of whoever was there, and the three of u would huddle together closely sometimes sleeping that way. We were all a bit grouchy and had cabin fever after about three weeks. This is about when my girlfriend started showing the signs of her pschizoprenia. She sought a psychiatrist and it was cofirmed. She was given medicaton, but it only made her worse.
To be continued in Pt. 4....
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