Job found, not starving

This is the second letter I sent out. Haven't been able to find for some reason. Actually, the reason is probably that I didn't save it. I'll post it later if I come across it somewheres.
Anyway, I wrote this after I moved out here and managed to find a job.

Folks:

Getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday, which I will observe with a traditional day of work. I’m not complaining – it’s work. Thank God.

Money was getting so tight I was eating leftover backpacking food. I’m a graveyard shift attendant at an assisted living center 20 miles away in Stephenville. I’ve been struggling with attempting to change my body’s schedule and sleep through the day.

Obviously, I’ve never been happier.

My first visitor at the farm in Hico was my buddy Scott. Scott got married earlier in the year and was taking a rare man-only break to the farm. We celebrated by opening a bottle of “Old Kentucky Tavern” bourbon I found among my late Aunt Raine’s stuff. Oldest whiskey I’ve ever drank. And the best. It was so good, I felt guilty about drinking it. I’ll probably finish it off when I throw my first party out here.

After raising the three sheets to a stiff breeze, me and Scott spent our time talking (as I told Meredith) about football. Only football. We didn’t even discuss specific teams, just the rules surrounding the game, with an hour-long discussion on the football itself and how they tie those laces.

Last weekend, Oklahoma buddy Jeremy passed through with a friend on a tour of Texas road trip. (Yeah, two straight weekends of socialization is pretty much an overwhelming event to me now.)

Cowen told me something I hadn’t thought of: I have moved “Off the grid”, a quote used often by the paranoid character on “King of the Hill.” It means that you’ve pretty much become untraceable by civilized society. That got me to thinking of all the ways I no longer leave tracks …

- If your permanent address is “Two or three buildings in and around Hico” …

Dude! You’re off the grid!

- If the vast majority of people you work with are either asleep or can’t remember your name …

Dude! You’re off the grid!

- If you have to take a 30-minute drive in order to use your cell, which will soon go off the air anyway …

Dude! You’re off the grid!

- If you look up your house on Map Quest and it’s off by miles …

Dude! You’re off the grid!

- If getting a hold of you is a two- to three-day process …

Dude! You’re off the grid!

- If bill collectors are sending you past due notices addressed to “Samuel Segrist or survivors” …

Dude! You’re off the grid!

Yeah, I made up the last one.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Sandy

Sign of the month: Seen in Chalk Mountain, Texas, which consists of 7 empty buildings and a Mason’s lodge.

“Chalk Mountain Mason’s Lodge
100 years of brotherhood
The lodge that wouldn’t die”

Unlike, of course, the vast majority of Masons.