Independence Powered By My New Sock Machine

           I had told friends my ultimate goal was to move out on my own. I had tried unsuccessfully for years to come up with a way of putting on my own socks. I never fully gave up on the idea but had almost lost all hope when I got a call from a friend and co-worker, Christine (Chris). She told me her boyfriend Joe had come up with an idea the night before.

            “Would you like to come over and give it a try?” She asked in her strong New York accent.

            “Sure. Can’t hurt.”

            Joe was also a co-worker and in fact I had worked with him before at Speedy Money. He was easy going and quiet carrying many ghosts from his multiple combat tours in Vietnam. He did not seem like the guy to answer the sock question. But I like them both and a visit would be cool. They lived way out in the middle of nowhere.

            Joe’s idea did not work quite like he thought it could but it opened a door for further exploration. His idea had two parts and I took one of them (with permission) and fooled around with it for several days. Rather quickly I mastered getting the socks on and off in a reasonable amount of time. I remember the first Bob was not around and I wanted to go somewhere but did not have my socks on. I used my new sock machine, the slipped into my shoes and walked out of the apartment a free man! I knew right away this was a game changer. From the on, I no longer had to drag Bob out of bed just to slide on two socks. He was almost as thankful as I was. Life can be messy but sometimes things have a way of falling right into place.

            Todd had decided to move to Nashville and asked if I would like to rent from his Mom. Together, they offered me a great deal that was not much more than I paid for the apartment. Both Bob and I were doing better financially and he managed to find a single bedroom apartment in the same complex we lived in for less money. Moving day was a pain in the ass times two.

           

            I was moving in at the same time Todd was moving out. We were roommates for about two days with two big piles of crap in the living room. People helping Todd tripped over people helping me and my stuff and vice-versa. At least everybody knew everybody and the transition went pretty smooth. In no time Todd was gone, except for a few pieces of furniture he gave me. The house was on one level with no steps and my handy dandy sock machine worked like a charm as it does to this day. This move was not near as emotional as leaving Virginia Street had been. Bob gained more privacy and I gained independence. Everyone was happy but I still had much to learn.

            The biggest new challenge was making all of my own meals. I was nowhere near a pay level that would allow for dining out all of the time. I would have to learn to grocery shop and cook on my own as well as load and unload a dishwasher. With Bob I cleaned off by dishes as best I could and left them stacked neatly on the counter. I did basically the same thing in my new home. Grocery shopping turned out to be pretty easy. I could push a grocery cart and load items in one by one until I had all I needed. Something out of reach, no problem. I’d ask another customer to grab it for me. Asking for help when I need it has never been a problem, I just always try to do it nicely. Store employees would always help me put the stuff in the car. I tried to tip a few of them but none would accept money from me. That was pretty cool I thought. The hardest part was getting the stuff into the house once I got home. It was a lot of work but I could manage it. I seldom felt like doing much more after a grocery run. With advice from Dad, I slowly learned how to cook. Being not much of a TV watcher, I came to enjoy cooking and a good way to pass the time. But there were something I could not do or proved very difficult.

           

I loved having a yard but there was no way I could cut grass. I had to find somebody and pay them. This was not too big a deal, Mom knew a guy who helped her from time to time with her secondhand store moving stuff, Buddy. He did all kinds of small odd jobs to supplement his monthly disability payment from Uncle Sam. There was no way he could do a regular forty-hour work-week with his COPD and other health problems. An hour or two here and there was no problem and he could not drive a car. I‘d go pick him and his mower up. I did not own a mower at the time. My lawn was small and he could do it with no problem. Soon I had buddy doing the other things that were very difficult for me, like laundry and cleaning the floors. He did not charge much money but got a steady income. I picked Buddy up every week or two. It was a small price to pay for living on my own at last. Having a trustworthy friend in Buddy made it possible.