I've been reading with some interest about the work of a public relations firm attempting to dress up the antics of their client. Truth can be distorted, you know. The trick in Public Relations is to create a story people are likely to pass on to others and overwhelm the simple truth. Applying a few of the tricks I have learned, here are two versions of the story of our lives this month.
The Public Relations Version--The Homeless Migrants!
We departed today, expecting to wander about the country until at least the end of July (covering upwards of 3,000 miles--125 miles per day). We are in our second week of homelessness.
We are wandering the countryside; relying on the generosity of friends, family, and
a couple of innkeepers to keep a roof over our heads.
We left our borrowed fifth floor walk-up this morning. When we left this morning, I walked up and down seven times--the equivalent of climbing the stairs of a thirty-five story building and walking back down.
What we need to live until at least the end of July is in our borrowed car. We will also be borrowing money for gas we'll need. The rest of our belongings are being stored behind a gas station, at the end of the airport runway. We are hoping to have a home again at the end of July, but we can't be sure.
The Normal, Slow, Boring Version--The Extended Vacationers
Yes, we are having an unusual month, but putting it normally, here it is--we sold our home eight days ago, and have not yet closed on the purchase of a new residence--thus, we are homeless. We are setting out on a four week vacation trip during this period between houses, which makes us migrants, of a sort. How will we keep a roof over our heads? We will rely upon the generosity of friends and family. It began last week, which we spent at a friend's ocean-front condominium. The elevator has been down since the day before yesterday, making this the "walk-up" we left this morning. Getting to our rooms to eat and sleep, moving out this morning, etc. really required walking up and down five stories.
Next up is a trip around the eastern half of the U.S. We've rented an SUV for the trip (well, a rented car is borrowed, isn't it?). We almost always use a credit card to buy our gas--we earn airline miles with one of them--so we are borrowing to pay for the gas. This week, we will visit friends in St. Louis, attend a family wedding in Northbrook, IL (suburban Chicago).
Next week and the week after, we will visit family in Lombard, IL, visit friends in Fredonia, New York, family again in Allentown, PA, then attend the wedding of our friends' oldest child in Long Island, NY.
Oh, and the innkeepers? They are the host hotels for the weddings. They are not overly generous, but the rooms were discounted for all persons attending the weddings.
Finally, we will return home to a new residence (cross your fingers on this one, we hope to close the purchase while we are on the road using a power of attorney, but nothing is certain until the deal is closed, so our period of homelessness can truthfully be said to be for an indefinite period).
Storing our household goods at the end of a runway behind a gas station? That's where our self-storage facility is located.
Which one of these versions would travel fastest? As Mark Twain once put it,
"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."
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