So, we’re still in the Red Cross shelter. Things are slowly getting back to normal here, although the movie theater is closed indefinitely because the roof fell in, and I haven’t seen signs of activity at Big Lots or Dollar Tree. Our mobile home is listed as “destroyed” in the Red Cross damage assessment database.
We have started a case with Red Cross, applied at FEMA, and attempted to get an emergency earthquake loan through the local bank, which failed because my credit score hasn’t recovered from the last disaster.
At this point we have two plans:
Plan A: There’s 120 acres of Mojave Wasteland near North Edwards and Highway 58. If we can scrape up the money for the down payments (and we may yet get FEMA loans, SBA grants, or some other form of earthquake relief aid to cover them), we can buy the land, get a manufactured home on it, and if we get started with events immediately the Mrs can have her live action role-playing camp and event center. She’s planning a 5k zombie run which is apparently a thing and which looks like it will be wicked cool and that I can possibly participate in (brrrraaaaaaainnnnnnnnsss). The problem with this plan is if things do not take off we can probably survive, but we’ll have to drastically cut our expenses.
Plan B. We have a van that can tow things. We can get a trailer and get a space at RV parks near wherever the Grown Woman that used to be Little Loner goes to college once she’s ready to. It will be yet another step down, but with solar panels &etc. it will be much better on our budget and will count as a house for Mrs. to get paid taking care of me again. The problem is the red car is not working, and even if it were, I am the only driver, so we can tow a trailer with the car on it or we can tow the house but not both.
Plan C: I don’t know what this is yet. If you have a suggestion, the following caveats:
If you are offering us a place to live THANK YOU and I must remind you that there will be no “getting back on our feet”. My disability is the only income we’re looking at for the duration and unless we get something like Plan A above going that’s going to be it, and I don’t want to be permanent houseguests and wear out our welcome. Nobody wants that. Also we have dogs. And role-playing games. And computers. And I am difficult to live with at best — I don’t call myself “Moody Loner” because I think it’s funny. BE ABSOLUTELY GODDAMNED SURE you want to share whatever living space you offer with weird people from the Internet for the foreseeable future.
My wife is setting up a GoFundMe page, the social services site of the 21st century. I DO NOT WANT YOUR MONEY but people have been begging and in some cases threatening me for the opportunity to help, so here’s the link.
IF THERE IS SOMETHING WE HAVE NOT THOUGHT OF PLEASE LEAVE IT IN THE COMMENTS. We are running on little sleep and lots of coffee (thank you Red Cross for the coffee) and if I’m missing something obvious please let me know. Again, we’ve put in our casework with Red Cross, FEMA, and partially with the SBA but that hung up because that has to wait until FEMA gets around to denying us, which could be months, and Red Cross would really like us to come up with something to get us out of the shelter. Now.
RE: STUFF: Clothes would be great, as I’m going back and forth between a Captain America Tshirt and jeans and my pajamas. But I have no idea where we’d store it right now except the storage space, and I really don’t feel comfortable changing clothes there. I HAVE A COMPUTER although I’m borrowing my daughter’s school and Hulu laptop because the Mac that I was given by Ridgecrest United (thank you!) fell during an aftershock and locked up and this is why I can’t have nice things although Apple swears they will get it running for me tomorrow at the Apple store in Bakersfield, and not to worry about the cost even when I tell them the Mac was a gift and I have absolutely no funds to spare to fix it. It won’t do Fallout, but it will do World of Warcraft, Roll20, and Car Mechanic Simulator 2015.
It could be that we need to wait for things to progress. We’re trying to move forward every day and we’re not just waiting around for handouts. But you are kind, wonderful people who keep insisting on helping us out, so this is where we are and what we’re trying to do. Please understand that just your support means so much to us right now, because we feel so alone in this, and we don’t know what to do.
[UPDATE] Our Red Cross caseworker told us to look into campgrounds and a tent. So, you know, here we are.