The Trailer Project I

So as part of my conceptual interest in The Trailer Project (hereafter known as), I have started to ask myself a series of questions, more as an actual exercise than something that is actually likely to happen.

The first question is this:  What do I actually need?

The model I am using is my friend's trailer. She verified the interior is 6.5 x 10 or 65 square feet.  The bathroom version (yeah, for the sake of argument we are going with that) includes two closets, understorage on the seats, and some small cabinetry around the sink  (apparently there is no storage on the outside of the unit):

For example, today's test would be kitchen and cooking:

The unit come with a 1.9 sq ft refrigerator and a two burner propane power stove.  As you can see, not a lot space for either food or cooking items.

But realistically:  how many cooking items do you need?  Pot to boil, check.  Small frying pan to fry, check.  Tea pot (well, for me anyway), check.  Colander?  Maybe.  A smattering of measuring spoons and cups. And some plates, cups and silverware to eat off of.    In other words, possibly the contents of that drawer above the refrigerator (if you packed it right).  

Reality check: what do we have currently?  Literally, a kitchen's worth of cooking utensils and pots and pans and various and sundries (that does not include the food.  Seriously.  We have more storage committed to items we use to cook than food we cook with).

Am  I advocating a complete abandonment of everything we have in our kitchen except for two dozen items.  Not at all (and in our case, this might provoke a revolt.  The cooks of our house actually use a fair amount of them).  But what I am trying to get to - at least to myself - is what do we really need versus what do we really have?

Why?  Because, frankly, stuff costs money.  And space.  And money to pay for the space.  And that money, space, and money could be more profitably used on something else.  

This has actually been a fairly entertaining mental exercise - and easy for me, as I can pretty much get by on almost nothing vis-a-vis cooking. Wait until we get to books - that will be another story...

Surreality

As I write this post on Monday evening, the sun is out. It is a picturesque 69 F. The oak trees are slightly swaying in the breeze which is gently blowing in. The ground is a little damp, but there really is no standing water.

3 hours away, up to 6 million people have been displaced in cascading torrents of wind and water.

It is hard for me to reconcile the two realities. Here, I am a little warm inside – but I can always turn up the air conditioning, My water may run a little warm – but I can always cool it down with ice from the refrigerator. In Houston, there is (for a great many people) no air conditioning and all the water in the world – but none that you can drink.

This is the reality of the media culture we live in. To a great many people, watching on the TV or computer screens, this seems like little more than another movie or video game. Yes, we can become teary eyed when a pet is rescued or at a feel-good heroic picture – but I suspect for most it is an unreal as the electrical impulses of HALO or Call of Duty or Star Wars: we perceive it as real, but feel as if (in our souls) it is not.

It becomes surreality, something which seems to be impossible – like flying suits of armor or light weapons – but it is only surreal because we choose to make it so. We have a choice to believe, to care, to take action – to realize that they things that we so often fight over are irrelevant in the grander scope of things, that like millions of those that have gone before us, our plans and motives and small grasps for small power – the things that we believe to be the critical defining agendas of our lives – are just as surreal in the scope of history as the thousands of books and movies that, once written or made, disappeared in the dust bin of history.

The true reality is visible to us. The question is, will we continue to turn away?

Tiny Trailers

One of my former coworkers, Miss Moonlight, bought a travel trailer to live in one year ago.

Her logic was thus: she was in her mid 30's, single, and paying upwards of $700 a month for an apartment she never was in because she worked a great deal.  So, she saved up her money and purchased one of these (https://www.scamptrailers.com)/:

(I believe this is hers - I have e-mailed her to confirm).

This particular model is 13' (3.9 m) long, weighs 1200 - 1500 lbs (544-680 kg) depending on the package, and has an interior space of 65 sq. ft (6.03 sq meters).  The layout can be customized to some extent (for example, I know she has air conditioning which is an add (and very necessary in these parts) and a shower package, which eliminates the front bunk).

They also have a 16' model.

She has been remarkably happy doing this - a bit of a free spirit, she has enjoyed moving from state park to state park, camping for a week at a time and then moving on.  It was also entertaining to see her work on adapting; she would get a package from Amazon with some sort of space or energy saving device, try it, and then figure out it did not meet here needs.

The result?  For her, it has allowed her to live in an expensive urban area paying about (my estimate) $6000 a year in "rent".  Yes, it is not a life for everyone, but it has allowed her to make her financial dreams and dreams of living free from having to live to work a reality.

I have to be honest:  more and more, there are days where shedding 95% of what I own and living in a trailer seems like a viable option.

A Few Thoughts On Disasters

As I write this on Sunday afternoon, I am on the outer fringes of what may become the defining disaster for Texas the way that Katrina became for Louisiana.  Harvey continues to stall, dumping inches of rain on the Houston area - before hopefully moving on (although we shall see).

Hopefully as my posts have indicated, this has been - in all ways - a non-event for us - frankly, we have had half day storms that have done more damage than what we have seen to date.  At least in our area, there is no flooding, no major trees down, and no power outages.  Other than a convenient chance to stay inside and catch up on reading, there has been little to report (and I am sure my reports, as mundane as they are, reflect that).

Beyond fortunate, there was some planning involved.  When last Thursday night came, we merely had to buy a few things and fill up the cars.  The important basics were covered - because I have made an effort to cover them (sadly, power is the one gaping hole in my preparations, but right now an emergency generator simply is not in the works).  Water, food, toilet paper, basic medical supplies - all of these things were taken care of.   But judging from the supermarket, not for everyone.

In reality, any significant weather event in the nearby area should be cause to look at one's preparations and be prepared.  As many have found in Houston, news reports and predictions about where a storm is supposed to go can quickly change with disastrous results.  And every event is a good excuse to go back and review the preparations you have made to see if there are holes or something needs to be redone.  Sometimes it is only the practical application of using an item or a system that will tell you where the disconnects are.

On a more macro scale, this is a single disaster in one (rather large) area.  Imagine now that this is multiplied in multiple areas, be they counties, regions, or entire states.  How well will the mechanisms most are counting on be able to function over time to sustain and develop?

And not just in the short term.  Pretty soon, things like fuel and food will be scarce in Houston and need to be brought in - which assumes passable roads, electricity to sustain refrigeration and economic activity (and remember, it is still summer here - last week it was well into the 90's F), and jobs for folks to earn income at.  All of this will take weeks or even months to fully bring back on-line.  And this with a modern society with resources readily available.

One of the best lines I read from this disaster about being prepared was not just the benefit to you and yours but to the fact that by being prepared, you help to reduce the requirements of emergency personnel and can perhaps even help those around you, giving the first responders the ability to turn to more desperate cases.  If ever there was a call to the true reason to be prepared - not just good sense, not just good practice, but good for each other and the society in which we live - this has to be it.

Harvey Day 2 Update 3

Rain has significantly slowed down.  We are predicted for another 3-6" but not sure if that will pan out.  We receive 0.55" at 2015 since 1345; not a great deal at all - except with all the other water, it is headed down south to riverbeds that cannot already hold what they have.

I will keep my eye on gas prices this week to see if they spike here.  One interesting note reported to me from shopping today was that.

We had a break in the sky this evening which made everything this incredible yellow.  The picture does not do it justice.

Harvey Day Two Update 2

Added another inch of rain from 0715 to 1345.  It was heavier from 1200-1300 but has died off almost completely.  We took a drive this afternoon.  Other than a few small tree branches down and a single traffic light out, no real evidence of damage.

The most interesting and significant thing is that the cloud patterns are moving in a counterclockwise motion instead of their usual east to west traverse.

Harvey Watch Day Two Update 1

Significant winds blew literally all night and are continuing.  Rain continued as well, but not an unusual volume:  1.3" from 2130 to 0715.  We continue to be blessed and have power but there are significant power outages throughout our larger urban area:  our church, for example, which is just 6 miles away, has canceled all three services due to power failure.

The weather map model for today remains much they same as yesterday, so we will see.

Reading what has happened in the Houston area last night (up to 2 feet of rain, over 1000 water rescues) makes me realize how blessed we are in this very significant weather event.

Harvey Watch Update 4

Update as of 2130 local time:  rain bands have definitely hit, although not incredibly prodigious in output.  1.4" since 1615, or 6" (15.24 cm)  for the day.  Winds have definitely picked up as well, now at 24 mph.  Barometric pressure is climbing (currently 29.75").   Theoretically the weather model claims that we are going to get more intense rain, but I am coming to question it.

Power has remained on and everyone is safe.  See you tomorrow, friends.

Harvey Update 3

As of about 1630, we had another 0.65" of rain and the wind has been steady.  That brings it to 2.65" since the storm started - which is not a great deal for us over that period of time, as we have gotten far more rain in a far shorter time.  The National Hurricane Center as of 1600 stated that the storm was essentially not moving, which may explain  why the heavy ran the models predicted keep getting pushed off to later (now 1700-1900 our time).  Wind is steady at 22 mph.

Power is still on and we are still good.

Harvey Update 2

As of approximately 1230 local time, winds have definitely increased but the rain has completely fallen of - 0.05" in the last 3 hours. We actually had a two hour window where little to no rain fell at all. Barometric pressure at 29.76" and dropping. The current model on weather.com has the rain and wind bands starting in our area from 1300-1330 and extending through 1530 (where the current model ends).

For me, a quiet morning. Picked okra and set it to dehydrating. Finished my yogurt (currently draining). Re-sewed my obi for the second time and tabi for the 52nd time (it seems). Actually ordered new tabi and a copy of The Havamal (thank you, Amazon, for free shipping).

One thing this has pointed out to me is I really need to get a weather station.

Harvey Watch Update 1

Local time is 0845.  We have light rains and winds, but nothing beyond what I would expect from weather we have had here before.  Wind is currently estimated at 20 mph with gusts up to 32 mph, although it appears to be picking up a bit.  I understand from a friend in the southern part of our fair city that they are already experiencing minor flooding - as I think I mentioned yesterday, we are on the high end and other than some minor flooding right at our doorstep/mud sill, should be fine.  Power is still on.

According to the weather radar, heavy rains start appearing right after 0900 and continue at least through 1300, as far as the projection will go.

To recap:  light rain and wind, power on, we are all still good.  I will update as events warrant.

Harvey Watch 2017

So we are in the path of Hurricane Harvey.

Not directly in the path of course, we are about 3.5 hours from where it is scheduled to come on land.  Still, a Category 4 storm moving at 35 MPH will dump a ton of rain on our location - and the wind, of course.

This is the first serious test of our emergency supplies we have every had. Fortunately, there was not much to take care of:  fill-up of both the cars and a few perishables (milk, vegetables).  Water, light, food - all in place.

I will update with a report once the storm hits.

Power

Unless The Lord

"Unless the Lord builds the house,

they labor in vain that build it.

Except the Lord watches the city,

the  watchman waketh but in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early,

to stay up late, to eat the bread of sorrows

For He gives to His beloved sleep" - Psalm 127: 1-2

As part of a new meditation practice I am trying to implement following this weekend's Men's retreat, I started with Psalm 127.  It is a favorite of mine, one I actually know well.  

As part of the meditation exercise, you are to review the verse (repeatedly) and at one point see what sticks out at you.  "Unless the Lord" jumped out at me - mostly because it is pretty clear, right?  Unless the Lord builds the house, you might as well not build. Unless the Lord keeps the city, all the watchmen in the world cannot protect it.  And what does it matter if you get up early or stay late trying to get ahead? Unless the Lord is in it, you fail - because He makes sure His beloved have sleep and their needs met. 

Very lovely. Very cut and neatly wrapped.

But that is not the part that stuck out at me.

"Unless the Lord..."  Unless the Lord is in it, it will not succeed.

But how, my mind asked, does you know if the Lord is in it?

Extend the phrase.  "Unless the Lord is in the marriage, it is doomed for divorce"  or "Unless the Lord is in the business, it is doomed to failure" or even  "Unless the Lord is in the hobby, it will be a waste of time and money.' It extends to everything - every part of life.  But how, my mind asked again do you know the Lord is in it?

It is not as if He announces at the beginning of every endeavor "Here I am.  Carry on."    We can think we know.  We can guess.  We can cherry pick verses or look to circumstances to guide us, but those have led me as oft astray as they have correctly.  

Surely there are occasional times for all of us when this is true, that moment that we can say "Yes, the Lord is in this".  But am I wrong in thinking these are a lot fewer, at least in my own life, than circumstances and situations I have to deal with?

Is there a resolution?  I do not know.  Going forward I guess so - wait until you see if God is in something before you begin it (but is there a time limit?  And how does that work in our age of speed?).  But what about those things we are already enmeshed in - what about those?  Do we assume if it has not fallen apart yet that it is "of the Lord"?  Or do o we assume that it will fall apart at some point and just do the best we can at that point?  

I wish I had better answers.  But all I can see etched in my mind is "Unless the Lord".  

What terrifies me is how few things I can actually apply this to.

Blessed

There are moments when I am really reminded how blessed I am.

  I am blessed with a marriage that, perhaps not always all I wish it to be, is not a source of contention in my life - instead of fighting with an ex-spouse over child support or undergoing severe duress.

I am blessed with children that are eager to learn and self disciplined and motivated.  I have never had to face a student unwilling to learn, a child completely unwilling to obey, or a school visit that was anything but pleasant.

I am blessed with family and friends that, although often far more distant than I like, are available and willing to talk and support on a moment's notice.

I am blessed with a job that, while extraordinarily busy and often feeling like it is above and beyond my abilities, is a place where I have grown and continue to grow.  I have not, in my time there, had to face a layoff or an unwillingness to let me achieve or the sense that I am "less" than others because of my different background.  

I am blessed with a house which, although maybe not the ideal layout and suffering from a small series of setbacks, is ours.  I do not have to confront the fear of having to find a place because of rent increases or relocating my family to different places chasing housing that we can afford.

I am blessed with activities that, although I am not always the best at, provide me with physical and mental stimulation.  I am not a slave to video or electronic media and can happily entertain myself.

And finally, I am blessed with the knowledge of my salvation.  I do not constantly have to wonder whether I will meet with God's approval or even if I measure up to those around me.

Life has felt a little dim of late.  But if I really sit and think about, how truly blessed am I. 

Living For?

Our Ill Compressor

Saturday night our air conditioning went out.  This is not really the thing you are holding out for, especially in the middle of summer.  I went outside and checked the unit - the breakers had not tripped (I reset them for good measure - nothing).

We fired up the fans overnight and, in the morning I gave it another try.  Sure enough, it came back on.  I left the house feeling okay - although I was not sure what had happened.

Later on Sunday our air conditioning guy came by.  Bad news and more bad news.  The compressor is failing.  The Ravishing Mrs. TB asked what our options were.  Not good, was the reply: we have about two months (possibly) left.  Replacing the compressor was, in his opinion, not the best option: it would extend the life, but we would probably be back where we were in not too short order.  His recommendation is replace the unit.  Price tag for that runs between $4000 and $6000.

Not really the Sunday I was holding out for.

It makes a certain amount of sense, of course:  the unit is the original one that came with the house so it is approximately 21 years old.  And units (where we live, anyway) get quite a workout during the hot season, which seems to run between as early as April and as late as October.  It was really only a matter of time.

The options are not great.  We do not precisely have that amount of money just sitting there, ready to be used for such a thing (although our budget has already gotten another round of scrutinizing).  First the first time in a long time, I am confronted with something I cannot neither pay for nor readily fix.

My solution, for it is worth, is two fold.  On the first hand, economize where we can and hope the unit makes it to the end of October - if we make it that long, we are good for six months (and a lot can happen in six months).  On the other hand, in a tall order of exercise of faith, I am going to pray for a new air conditioning unit.  I have no idea how God might work that out but that is His business, not mine - and I have learned over the years God can move in ways that I never would have predicted.  

I wish I had something more upbeat, and of course in the scope of things this is not the worst thing in the world - we still have so many many blessings.  It is just the sort of thing that gives you pause for a moment and wonder (all worldly like, of course)  "Did I do something to merit this?"

Innocent As Serpents And Wise As Doves

Today, as I was meandering about in my mind about another thing I thought the Church had somehow managed to get something completely backwards, doing one thing and hoping for a certain result and getting precisely the opposite.  "Innocent as serpents and wise as doves"  I thought to myself, quoting Mathew 10:16.

And then caught myself.  That was not it at all. The actual verse reads "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents as innocent as doves."  Odd little substitution, I thought to myself.

Think about it.  To the Jews to whom Christ was speaking to, the idea of the wise serpent would have been easily identifiable from Genesis 3:1  "Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made." And the serpent often has a reputation for being crafty and wily, tricking its way into capturing its prey.  The dove, on the other hand, was a symbol of purity and innocence.  A dove brought back the olive branch to Noah (Genesis 7:8-12) and a dove was the one of the sacrifices that the very poor could offer under the sacrificial system (for example, Leviticus 1:14).  Sheep in the midst of wolves would have been a well known idea to that agricultural setting, so when Christ communicated this to them they were very clear.

But too often we reverse the whole thing. The dove, if you have never known it, is not the wisest of birds.  It is slow and fairly interested in food. I have never seen a bird of prey smack into a window; I have seen plenty of doves do so.  And the serpent could hardly every be seen as innocent:  predators always have a hint of malice about them even in the best of nature shows, and the serpents ability to camouflage itself, its quick strikes, and its often virulent poison make a poor poster child for anything but crafty and dangerous.

But too often people get the two reversed, somehow thinking that showing the wisdom of doves (and by wisdom, we mean foolishness) and the innocence of serpents (a sort of non-innocence that everybody recognizes and avoids or attacks ruthlessly) is somehow the way to go about being in the world.  Somehow, the thought goes, if we just "blend in" and use their words and their ideas they will come to accept us as their own.

They miss the first part of that statement, of course, "send you out as sheep among wolves" - a fairly critical context (and one I forgot in my initial remembering).  Christ knew the world into which He was sending His servants.  Too often others seem to forget that, thinking that somehow good intentions and a sincere desire to be liked will be enough to get the door, where their "wisdom" and "innocence" will win the day.

Make no mistake:  wolves are always quite happy to have the sheep in for a visit and perhaps a discussion.  While their innocence may be questioned, their wisdom in providing themselves a ready food source surely cannot be.

On Silence

For the last two nights everyone has been out of the house.  It has been me, the two rabbits Midnight and I-Bun, Poppy the Puppy, Sam the Guinea Pig, and Kiki the Parakeet.  It has been an amazing experience.

The silence is remarkable.  It is so quiet when I walk in the door and get through the puppy greetings it is amazing. The sound of air conditioning working.  The outside sounds of birds and the occasional car passing by.  The dappled sun wanders through the leaves and hits the windows, making shadows on the panes. But silence lays like a blanket over everything.

Oddly enough, the silence seems to act as a shield when I get home.  There is a sense that the four walls enclosing me are impenetrable to the outside world - ridiculous I know, but very real.  The world outside seems as a thousand miles away.

I grasp again that underlying need to have this sort of silence, unburdened by the ways I seem to get it now:  in the car to work with the background noise of traffic, in the house early in the morning when the presence of others is felt it not there, in the brief moments when everyone else is away.  It is nothing like this - a long extended period of quiet, surrounded by the things in my life that give me joy.

I understand the attraction for some of the silent monasteries and retreat centers - for many, a thing which would be difficult to incur two hours of, let alone two days - but for me a chance to reconnect with soul and mind, to do deep thinking, to merely be.

Silence becomes the security blanket with which I envelop my soul.

On Silent Running

The message I had thought to write - that I did write -for this morning's post was actually written in the throes of last weekend.  I looked at again and thought it was probably a bit more than what was actually needed.

There was a point in it where I mentioned the idea of effectively being non-remarkable - that, I think still stands.  Especially in the age of social media, it is all too easy for unwanted attention to be driven to us for the least of reasons - or updating the words of an old saying, I never had to explain away something I never posted.

I also, for myself, am finding communication with others to be a much more difficult thing.  And it is not so much that is in the communicating; instead, it is in the very effort of communicating.  It is becoming difficult because the effort of communicating with those who one disagrees is so, well, disagreeable that one would simply rather avoid the whole thing entirely.

There has come, in the last few weeks, much more of a concept of staying within the four walls that I live (or maybe venturing out occasionally to a book store).  The world outside of them has less and less to offer me in terms of interest or opinions or goods.  The important work, the writing and the pondering and the thinking, all happen right here.

So my advice, friends, in a more measured and less panicked tone than in my original post, is to realize that the times are savage.  Do not kid yourself they are anything but, and that more and more people are looking for reasons to attack and destroy others.  Do not give it to them.  Live quietly, live humbly, and let the inner life and the life you share with those closest to you be your focus, not the wide world beyond whatever four walls you live in.  It may not preserve you from a flood, but it will at least settle your mind and keep you focused on what is truly valuable.