On a friday night, five years ago, I was chatting with a waitress. She said business was down at that restaurant, because people in the construction trade can’t afford to get out much, and they were her main customers. I agreed and we talked about the reasons why. After she left, a guy leaned over from the next table and asked if he could talk with me. Turns out, he has been a contractor for 22 years. He said he went from making $125k per year to about $15k the last couple years. He has two sons (in their 30s) that still live at home. One is a heroin addict, the other is addicted to alcohol and strippers. His wife has never worked and is a shopaholic. She keeps buying stuff that they don’t need and can’t afford. The holidays were the topper for Rick. He got a letter from the IRS saying he still owes $18k in taxes. He got his credit card statement and discovered his wife had paid a psychic $7k to have her fortune read. That did it! He called his lawyer and changed his will. Then he got his gun and put it to his head. He sat there for an hour with the gun and thinking about his life. He said he had an epiphany that he didn’t need anything or anyone in his life. So he filed for divorce and put his house up for sale. He is not going to renew his contractor license. He figures that he will net about $50k when everything is settled. Then he plans to move to a small high desert town and be a cook at a diner. That was always his dream job. Without his wife or kids. He said if his money runs out, he still has that gun. But for the first time in years, he feels hope.
He apologized for laying everything on me. He said that he just had to tell somebody! I told him that I knew exactly how he felt. My finances have taken a major hit these last few years. And I’ve had several relationships that have ended ugly. A year and half ago, I put a gun to my head too, and kept pulling the trigger a little, then letting off. But also decided that things hadn’t quite hit bottom yet. I still have several things that I want to do. On an odd side note, the next time that I went to fire that gun, it was jammed and wouldn’t shoot! The gun got stolen soon after.
It was kinda surreal hearing Rick’s story. Sometimes strangers can say things to each other that they can’t to friends or relatives. Facebook can be a sounding board for my thoughts too. It is like having a public diary. Of course there are still some things that I won’t talk about here. Like….never mind. 🙂
I wish the best to Rick. I really hope his new life is fulfilling. I started a new one myself, living in a van and traveling a lot.
iggyvandweller 