Special Labor Day Monday Mystery Tour

The best Labor Day to all. If I am correct, we honor labor today. That's why the corporations that hire labor make them work so they can increase the profits for the stockholders. I don't spend money on Labor Day. I won't encourage them. I hope you enjoy the day and keep in mind the sacrifices the working class went through and continue to go through to serve your needs. Today is the day set aside to honor the working class.

In the meantime, things happen fast around me. I make things happen, fast. I see them in my mind’s eye, I envision the whole procedure, actually live it, then it happens. I can’t tell you that I know every detail, but I can tell you I know what I set out to do is gonna take place one way or another, if it is suppose to.

When I left Chicago in 1974, I saw us building a home on some acreage. It took us six years from the time we left to get the land and another couple to build the house.

That is kind of what happened here in Truth Or Consequences this time through. I had the idea of living at the Palms for years. As long as I have been coming here, I walked by this place and loved the colors and the way it was laid out. I liked the carports and the little covered patios off of the apartments. I liked that it was close to the Hot Springs District of T or C. It’s not just close, it is right smack dab in the middle of it, and only a block away from the coffee shop and deli where I make my morning appearances.


Problem was, The Palms never had vacancies. I do read the Truth Or Consequences Herald Newspaper on line at home. I was lookimg through the classifieds and saw an ad for apartments for rent at The Palms. I jumped on the opportunity and called. I couldn't do anything over the phone, but I did plant the seed and told Steve, the caretaker, that I would be down there and take a look. When i met him, he told me that many people call and say they are interested, but few ever actually show up. He remembered my phone call from a week prior and was happy to have made an agreement with me to rent Unit Number One at The Palms.

Before I left Wisconsin, I looked for any photos I had of the RV that I had parked down here at The Artesian Trailer Park. I put an ad to sell the RV on Craigslist in Las Cruces, NM. I had a couple of e-mails and a couple of calls. I told interested folks that I would be down here to show it on the first of September.

Morph, the RV, as it appeared in the Los Cruces Craigslist ad

I arrived on the first and took more photos of the unit itself and of the interior. I went back to Craigslist and changed my ad, adding the newer photos and giving more contact information. This also brought my ad back to the top of the heap and on the first page. I had many calls and e-mails.

I had one person call my cell number and ask me if I’d take $2000. For it. I declined and said they should at least come and see it. Truth is, I probably would have sold it for $2000. If they were knocking on my door with their money splayed out in their hand, ready to give it away, but not a spontaneous phone call asking me if I’d take that much.

Got a couple of e-mails asking me what my lowest price was. Out of around eight calls, five people came to see it. One outright didn’t want it because he thought it was in poor condition, another said it was too small for what he was looking for. Others left me with the old standbys, “I gotta talk to the wife” or the “I’ll think about it and get back to you.”

Yesterday, a guy came by. He had set up the appointment on Saturday and came Sunday. He looked it over, made me an offer. I accepted the offer based on some very simple terms. I needed some cash on-the-spot to let me know he was serious, and a date, which we wrote in a bill of sale, stating when and how he would deliver the balance due and pick up the RV and the title documents.

It was agreed and it has come to pass. I have cash and a signed bill of sale in  my possession. I’ll use the RV as a dwelling until I leave for Taos and the motorcycle rally on Wednesday. When I return on Monday September 12th, I’ll get the last items out of the unit and he will come with a cashiers check on Tuesday, September 13th. The owner of the RV park is sad to see me leave, but The Palms is but a block away, so I'll still run into him from time to time. He told me he will return a half month's rent when the RV leaves.

This is a new picture Mel, I didn't forget my camera, just forget to take a lot of photos

In the meantime, I did sign an agreement for the apartment at The Palms, and gave a security deposit for possession on the 15th of September. The caretaker and I had a talk and he said it would be okay to put any boxes and personal items in the kitchen on the floor before the 15th. He knows that I might sell the RV and need a place to store things until he finishes a few touch up items and steam cleans the carpeting.

Today is Labor Day, but I will pack up into plastic totes and boxes everything that I own. Kitchen fixins’, clothing, I was gonna make a list here, but that’s about it. It’s an RV and there just isn’t that much to gather to move out of it.

I’ll get these items to The Palms and put them in the kitchen with the help of a local resident that does odd jobs. I won’t be hoisting heavy boxes and totes full of stuff, I’ll hire help and feed the community with a little manna from heaven.

A view from Austin Street into the courtyard at The palms

I’ll leave for a great motorcycle trip and return to T or C and a cashiers check. I will probably have the expense of a couple of nights in a motel, but I also might have a chance to stay at a friend’s place. Either way, I leave Truth Or Consequences on Thursday morning the 15th and drive to Phoenix. There, I will meet Mrs. Spadoman who will join me. We’ll travel back here and have some fun stopping at second hand and thrift stores along the way looking for used tolerable furnishings for the new digs. Southwestern decor is a must!

Our Patio

Yep, I made it happen. Me, and the Spirit Guides and Helpers that I rely on to get me through these things, and The Creator. I was either off His radar or He just allowed it.  Both Mrs. Spadoman and I agree that if it was suppose to happen, it would, and it did, or at least is going through the process.

We didn’t sell our home in Wisconsin. This is a place we are renting to use as a second dwelling. I’ll be here on and off during the long cold Northern Winter, and like I am here in September for some bike riding, I’ll return in late April or May for some Spring riding. So the apartment at The Palms will get some use, approximately six months worth, just not a planned here and there Summer and Winter thing.

View of the patio from inside the apartment

So, I'm not selling my home amd moving down here. And Mel, I did not forget my camera, I didn't leave my wife, (sorry ladies), and even have her blessings. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do today. Not work, not labor for someone else's profit mind you, but activities that enhance my life and the lives of those I love. 

I may be getting old, but I plan on living until I die, not just be alive until I die. I feel good that I can still get the job done, with a little help.


Honor Labor, working men and women, today!

Peace