HOME (SOMEWHERE)

 I suppose my home is (was) Southern California, because I was raised there and lived there over thirty years.

My parents moved six times while they were in California. I always felt unsettled as a child. As soon as I got used to a place, we'd move to another.

I left California when I was in my early thirties. I had regrets, but I saw the proverbial handwriting on the wall. Southern California was once a magnificent paradise. That's how I remember it as a child.

Over the years it changed drastically, all for the worst. The intrigue, the abience, the glorious golden age completely tarnished. I'd never go back.

I spent numerous years in the Missouri Ozarks. A hauntingly intriguing place. I made my living as a freelance writer there. Got into a relationship that turned into a disaster......I could elaborate, but it would take about 300 pages...

Wound up in the wilds of West Texas. Why? My retired parents moved there. After my father died, I took care of my mother for four years until she passed away. Devastating, heartbreaking memories.

My thoughts about Texas? The nicest thing I can say is that it is totally unbearable. My apologies to Lone Star fanatics. It's just not my style. Too many bitter memories. I couldn't leave soon enough.

Why Tennessee? I'd never been there, knew nothing about it. I had a few relatives there.

I was seeking a quiet, peaceful, rural life. And I found it. A tiny "shack" on two acres. At the edge of a forest. In the middle of nowhere. My neighbors are cattle and cows. I like that.

It's a frugal existence, far below poverty level. I've seen the " high life" in Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I hobnobbed with the privileged. I don't miss it. I crave simplicity.

I had a big house in Texas. Four bedrooms, three baths, all walk-in closets. A dining room with a fireplace. A huge kitchen with two refrigerators, a pantry, more cabinets and counterspace that you'd ever need.

My humble abode here in the wilderness is small. Three bedrooms (two are very small) and two baths. The kitchen is minuscule. I have no space to put anything, but I don't care.

Cost of living? I paid cash for the TN house. In Texas my annual property taxes were over $4,000.

Here in TN my annual property taxes are $150.

Yes, you heard me right. And the value of my property increased last year.

So, I had a peaceful and private existence. I had no regrets.

Until.....I got seriously ill in 2023. This literally destroyed everything. My privacy and freedom completely vanished. The past two years have been a nightmarish complexity of hospitals, rehab centers, doctors, nurses, tests, medications. I have lost my health, independence,  precious time, and dignity.

My rural home is abandoned and left alone. Local people who live in my area have been periodically checking the place, but I haven't heard from anyone lately.

I feel completely trapped here in the confinement of rehab. My biggest fear is that I'll never see my home again......

Jon,    intensely apprehensive

This is the rural road that goes past my property

A glimpse of the back of the house, at the edge of the forest

The front porch in late afternoon

That's the crude gravel driveway, leading out from the front "yard"

The humble living room

These tall trees are only a few feet from my bedroom. 

In the summer and autumn the nearby hills are completely blocked from the trees. They can only be seen in winter and early spring.

Spring in my back "yard"

Back yard in December

Evening view in front yard

After a storm (one of my favorite photos)

Early morning autumn mists

Front yard in October, beautiful view from porch.

My greatest joy was walking in the back "yard" forest in autumn. These photos were taken near the house.

The  equisite  beauty of nature makes my heart sing.