I was never so poor that I had to live in a vehicle, but at one time in my life, things were pretty scarce. I was living in this cold, cold house in Maine with a whole bunch of people....they were always changing, moving in and out. We had a hard time heating it in the winter because it was a pretty old place--the windows barely slowed down the breeze. I would go to bed at 7 pm just to stay warm. I was poor, but I got a lot of sleep. Sometimes in the morning we would have ice in the toilet.
I had a car at this time, and I was too poor to pay the registration. One time, while the car was unregistered, a policeman tried to stop me for speeding. He didn't have his siren on, but I could tell he was coming up to me. I turned into a congested area in an attempt to lose him. I was weaving in and out of alleys. He eventually caught me. I had to pay for the speeding ticket AND for an unregistered vehicle. It was terrible.
My sister, who has always earned a lot of money, wondered why I never visited her during those years. I never had the guts to tell her how poor I was. Eventually (recently) I told her. She had no idea.
Things are a lot better now, and I think one reason I am so happy is because I had this period in my life. I have parents who are fairly well off, and if worse came to worse, I could have gone to them for help and they would have given it willingly with no strings. But I was an adult, and I really hated to do that. I'm glad I did it my way. |