I
used to live in a house.
A
column by Fran Crawford
Published in Yuba/Sutter Senior News
August 15, 1996
I
used to live in a house. When I was about 45, give or take, the church
building at the end of my street was sold and converted into a "Senior
Center".
"Great!
"I said. "In five years, when I qualify as a 50 year old senior I will
be able to go down there and get lunch for 50 cents"
About
the time I reached 50 the age of a 'senior' was upped to 55. When the
whole senario repeated itself as I approached 55, I decided the heck
with being a senior citizen.
If
I waited around for a cheap lunch until I reached 60 I'd be missing
a lot of experiences that were waiting for me out there beyond the street
I had lived on for 26 years.
So
we sold the house and moved into our fifth wheel. That's the first step.
Now, as soon as we can find a way to make a living on the road, we plan
to hit the open highway. Gas prices being what they are that may take
a while.
In
the mean time we get to take a trip about once or twice a year and in
between times we are shuffled about in trailer parks so we are learning
about packing, hitching up, towing, etc.
Steve,
that's Steve Fletcher, my husband, business partner and tow-vehicle
driver, is taking a course to become certified to repair RV air conditioners,
refrigerators, awnings, etc.
All
that may not finance our travels, but it's bound to come in handy keeping
our own equipment functional when we are forty-umteen miles from nowhere.
We
like to go to RV shows and Good Sam gatherings from time to time to
see what is new in "stuff" for RVs. And it's fun to visit the recreational
vehicle supply stores. It's fascinating to see all the ways everyday
things are adapted for use in smaller weight-conscious environments.
Some
things are definitely not the same as living in a "real" house, but
for the most part Steve and I have adapted quite nicely to our reduced
quarters.
One
thing that is difficult for me to get used to is grocery shopping.
A
friend commenting on this recently said "I bet getting groceries is
easy. You just hitch up and drag the house to the store and say 'fill
'er up'!!"
The
major problem is that grocery shopping is not one of my favorite passtimes.
In the old Air Force days I would shop at the commissary only every
six weeks. I'd stock up on everything but perishables. I had room to
store stuff and then I didn't have to shop as often.
'Course
now days you'd have to take out a loan to shop for a six week supply
of food!
Even
shopping monthly or twice a month cuts down on trips to the store, but
as a full time RVer I'm slowly getting the message that my little refrigerator
just doesn't hold what my 16 cubic foot freezer and regular sized frig
held.
Fitting
much more than a week's supply of canned goods and staples in the narrow
"pantry" is a challenge also. But you do learn to step aside quickly
when you open a door and an overstuffed shelf starts to toss things
out at you.
The
good side of that is no meal planning... you just cook what falls out.
Actually that may be the origination of the expression "catch of the
day"!
But
all in all, living full time in an RV is quite an adventure. I'll be
telling you more about it as time goes on... and maybe you have some
stories to tell also. If so, send them along to me in care of the Senior
Review.
Copywrite
1996 -- Fran Crawford
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