Never thought I’d wind up here.

Never thought I’d wind up here. 

Once upon a time I was able to help people improve their lives by restoring their old homes, repurposing their old buildings, and rebuilding their declining neighborhoods. 

No job was too small. No challenge too daunting. Although the work could be hard, frustrating, physically demanding, even literally back-breaking, it was always rewarding. The work sustained me. 

Bringing new life to people and places through the years filled my heart, but it did not always fill my wallet. I often became too emotionally, as well as financially, invested in the work I took on. Though I could always envision a project through to its completion, sometimes I failed to see the motivations and intentions of others around me. Repairing the damage that time and nature can cause was what I lived for. The damage that human nature can cause in no time at all is what I’ve lived through. What’s  the old expression? We grow too soon old, and too late smart.

Now crippling arthritis and a now long list of chronic diseases have ended my ability to earn and create with my hands. Even seeing to my own physical needs is getting harder every day, let alone caring for others. Making matters worse, since getting Covid-19 last spring, I am trapped as a long hauler with migraine headaches, nausea, short breath and exhaustion. 

My wife has also suffered since contracting Covid-19 last year, and found out last week the company she worked for will be letting her go come June. That means the live/work space which we have been blessed to call home these last years will be lost too. 

Broke, homeless and incapacitated past middle-age is not what I hoped for or planned, but here I am. 

There’s another old expression though, about spilled milk, and I know we will get through these tough times somehow. We could just sure use some help right now. 

Anything you can give will go toward a new rental and deposit, moving expenses, food, and computer equipment/software for my wife and I to start a small business from home based more on what we know than what we can physically do. 

Even if we can’t use our hands and bodies the way we used to, we intend to put our knowledge and experience to work for us and others. One day soon that work will once again sustain us. 

Until then, whatever you can give will be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.