Lost and Alone
After Jeff’s passing, I found myself consumed by the fragility of life. Living in a boarding house, surrounded by strangers, only added to my sense of unease. The fear of losing someone close to me, or even my own mortality, kept me up at night. I turned to heavy drinking to cope, which only made things worse.
A New Ride
My trusty GOAT, a reliable companion, had started to show signs of mechanical issues. With the ragtop leaking, it was cheaper to take it off the road and find a temporary replacement. I opted for a “winter beater,” a 1963 Chevy Impala, which I purchased from an elderly gentleman for $150. The car was well-maintained, with a spacious trunk that became my mobile storage unit. I transferred my belongings, including my father’s baseball glove and the Del Crandall autograph model catcher’s mitt, from the GOAT to the Impala.
Thackeray’s, the Local Watering Hole
On any given night, you could find me and my friends swapping stories at Thackeray’s, our favorite hangout spot. We’d feast on oversized sirloin burgers and thick-cut steak fries, washed down with copious amounts of beer. One fateful night, after a long day of landscape construction, we closed out the bar. As we stumbled out into the parking lot, I realized my Impala was gone.
Panic Sets In
I suspected my friend Pokey, who knew how to hotwire the Impala, was playing a prank on me. But after calling him and getting an earful, I realized my car had indeed been stolen. The worst part? All my worldly possessions, including my precious baseball gloves, were gone.
Desperation
With the help of my friends, I reported the theft to the police and began searching for my car. We scoured the usual spots, but it was nowhere to be found. Feeling lost and alone, I turned to Pokey for support. His mother, a realtor, offered to help me find a new place to live, away from the boarding house and its bad memories.
A New Beginning
Two weeks later, I moved into a cozy one-bedroom bungalow by Lake Massapoag in Sharon. It was a fresh start, a chance to leave my troubles behind. But I still needed to come up with the cash to fix the GOAT and get it back on the road. My journey was far from over.
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