A few weeks ago I was in this house O was working on and noticed a painting on the wall.
Whoa, I thought to myself. That looks so lifelike it isn't real. Indeed. On closer look I noticed it to be an artist rendering of the infamous Bob Hall Pier here on North Padre Island.
Immediately I flashed back to my homeless days when I was living on the beach like a gypsy in a plywood trailer I had made. The thought was simple, I might as well, my life had gone to shit, I had nowhere else to go, little money, no job -why not? I'll just throw some walls on the thing and stay in it for a few weeks until o get on my feet and get my life in order.
Weeks became months, months became years, one car, two trucks, eaten by the salt air until their destruction, yet I remained. At one point it became almost comical. After living there in my box for so long I became part of the scenery. This constable comes by trying to pull my chain and tells me I got to move my trailer, that it's illegal to stay in one place so long. I got out of my box and proceeded to grab the tongue of my trailer, picked it up and moved it by hand some 50 yards further down the beach and in protest ask him of he was happy. He said yes and drove on and never spoke to me again.
It was strange that part of my life
Almost like a 7 year dream that refused to die. Many days I would just sit and ponder the meaning of life, questioning God's wisdom or debating whether He / she even existed. Some mornings though
Life seemed to be on hold then. Nothing mattered. Be it Monday or Sunday, no difference. But getting back to the painting. I remember that day. I wasn't the artist but rather the participant. The artist must have been there than very same day. I was there I'm sure. That was the day I had road my skim board the 7 miles up the beach to get some buttermilk pancakes at the infamous Bob Hall Pier. I took a picture of the rendering, artist unknown, I took a picture to remind me of those times so alone. So free. So surreal. So long ago. To remind me of the renewal in all things including my faith.