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Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Remembering my homeless day 5 years back today

I am remembering this day today 5 years back when I was literally homeless (rather we were homeless). It was 4th of July 2012, the independence day of USA when people enjoy a day off and a long weekend. In our community (Ruidosa Ridge), there was a small celebration where they usually block the traffic where children parade. We were most of the time onlookers through our large front windows. Suddenly we saw a SUV pulled off few meters away from our home. The man and his family got down off the SUV, of course we know them, they are the people who bought our home for a throw away price!! In case you want to take peek here is the image that we took ourself! https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/601-Flintwood-Ln,-Arlington,-TX-76002_rb/?fromHomePage=true&shouldFireSellPageImplicitClaimGA=false&fromHomePageTab=buy They are a nice Vietnamese family. We signed the documents on 25th June 2012 and the condition was we would stay there 10 more days in the house. We thought may be he dropped to enjoy the independence day parade in the community. He came inside the house and sat with no signs of going out. Our home almost empty except for few items that we would need to sustain our self for another month in the country. He and his kids came and he ordered his older kids to sit on the couch saying "Go sit on your sofa". I was like ?!!!! Then at 9 AM they blocked the traffic in front of our house for the annual parade. He sits and tells us you can take your time to vacate. We were like, was it not suppose to be tomorrow?! As per our calculation, July 5th should be the 10th day. In any case, since he bought the house, we have nothing to say in this scenario. We immediately booked a hotel near by and planned to move and told him that we will leave for the hotel after sometime. His youngest was 2 years old and was crying for food, at that point instead of going back, he called his wife and asked her to bring the food. We looked at each others face and realized that he is determined to evacuate us on that particular hour!! The milk was still boiling on the gas stove and we were still sipping hot tea. Then we sprang to our feet and began preparing for evacuation on a war footing! We packed whatever we could, rest we dumped on the dumping place in front. At that time the traffic curb had been lifted, parade was over. It was approximately 10 AM in the morning. I poured hot tea into the flask and rest all in the back of the car. Off we left for the hotel... Hotel was just 10 minutes away. Hotel guy said check in time is at 2 PM and since it was a holiday they were packed, cant take us early! We roamed with the luggage at the back of the car from hotel to hotel, and all the hotels had the same story.... Finally after 2 hours of roaming, we found one that allowed us a check in at 12 PM, and there we went. The next day was a long day for me because I had to leave for Virginia for the annual OMGN workshop, so it was essential that I take some break and PREPARE for the workshop. Thank god it is over and thank god for the 2 hours homelessness. It teaches you the value of a shelter.

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