my forced retirement from being a vagabond

I am not in the same situation so to speak however there are similarities, alot of plans I had for future trains hops will likely come to a end this year due to one major factor. I broke my leg and fractured my ankle last year in a train accident.

Everysince then train hopping has become much more difficult for me due to permit injuries. I do however plan to keep pushing myself until fall arrives.

I walk with a limp now and have been told that I always will for the rest of my life and because of my injuries I will be forced to eventually give up train hopping as far as cross country hops are concerned however I suspect I will do a 400 mile run every so often or something of that nature.

But this will be my last year cross country or making trips that require me to stay out doors for weeks or months on end.

That's a tough pill to swallow and even harder for me to addmit because I am only 40 and still have alot of good years left in me pertaining to traveling.

The point is that I do understand the need to explore and to want to complete the journey to other final destinations that you have planed. I also understand the need and desire to accomplish and see the things that you still have on your bucket list.

Just like you I will have to put my plans on hold eventual however I have plans to buy a van and travel that way in the future when that time comes. This is just a delay in your plans for now however as you well know life is a adventure and you never know what the future holds for you.

Keep your head up Matt because your doing a fantastic job pertaining to STP and mad respect for having the balls to say what you did pertaing to sharing your situation. I am just trying to give some encouragement friend. Take care Matt and keep us posted.....

 

Uh, people who are considering Mexican dentists.... pleeeze do your homework and get references! Some people get great work down there and some end up getting very sick and needing the whole job redone... after their body has months to heal. No shit - first person accounts available! Be careful and ask around in the border cities for reputable names/ practices. If shit goes wrong, you may have no recourse.

@Matt Derrick Sorry man. I feel for you deeply. In (greatful) debt to my parents for the same. And at 40yo, I understand the feelings of not being "where you should be by now" too. (I know you know that attaching life benchmarks to age is silly, even though our culture clings to the fantasy.) Hard to keep the chin up some days. At least you have a skill set that may come in handy. Check out permies.com for monetizing ideas w/out "commercials"... could be a good idea as @Wile E Coyote mentioned. And of course, try not to worry or dwell in the muck.

 

Came here to say, That fucking sucks brother and I feel for you. Thank you for creating this vehicle for communicating and for community building. For real.

Also: Mexico.

 

Thanks to being poor and Obamacare, I am getting my teeth fixed Medicaid style. The dentist is going to start drilling on Monday and I know two need to be pulled. I had a tooth pulled when I was in college and I cried. Not because it hurt, but because I knew it was that or a $1k root canal and what college student has that kind of money laying around? The cost didn't fit the work. I knew it was a way for society to separate me from the privileged. Things like that is what made me cry.

I can really, really relate on the whole letting your health go to shit bit. I'm 43 and spent the first 35 years of my life in good shape, then just kinda said fuck it after a couple rough years post-deployment to see war firsthand. Been slowly repairing the damage that set in both physically and in other aspects of my life for about three yrs now. Getting my teeth fixed and an epidural in my spine are the last two medical things to check off on my list to get on the road. That spine thing will eventually need to be remedied, but I need to travel.

Not gonna lie, this sucks. I've been living with my parents for this chapter of my life and my dad is one mental abuse laying down mofo. I hate this town and the closest place with any kind of life is 50 miles away in Omaha, which isn't much, so I've been an island surrounded by assholes and asshats for three years while trying to get my shit together. It's taken a toll on me mentally for sure, but soon I will travel.

If I can do it, you can do it.

 

Is the credit card debt in collections? If it's over seven years old it might be cheaper to have a site like creditrepair dispute them being on record to erase the debt, and then you wouldn't have the bankruptcy on record for the next 10 years.

 

That really sucks man. I've been shelling out crazy money to pay for lyme disease treatment and it does keep me pretty local at times... But I'm wondering where you're getting the 3+ years of work idea and moving to Seattle (one of the most expensive places to live) and all that stuff. You can move to any bustling tourist town in the US right now and make all that money bussing tables in one summer - potentially only working part time. If you make like 15 an hour working part time for 4 months you'll have made over 6000. Some of those towns don't cost much to rent in either. I don't mean to be telling u things you've probably already thought of but I was confused by your post. Not because of how shitty the situation is because its obviously really shitty, just your approach to dealing with it. much love, cf

 

Just because other people are in a worse predicament that doesn't make yours any less shitty. I'm sorry to hear all of this, I'm currently 30 months into a 36 month probation sentence that forced me to settle down and get a full time job (as a stipulation of probation). At first I was very distraught and depressed but over time I learned that there was nothing I could do to change my situation and so I had to make the most out of it. Sure it's been a rather stale existence these last three years but I didn't have to go to prison, I've been able to save up more than I ever have before, and I'm going to start community college this fall to learn about car repair so I won't be completely SOL when my car inevitably has problems. I hope you keep your head up and keep a positive mental attitude, that really does make all the difference! Best of luck to you!!

 

same thing happened to me when I was 40...I let a bad filling go and ended up paying about $4000 for dental....Now I'm 64 and still having problems...even if you can get medicaid it only covers cleaning, pulling, and fillings....it sucks when you get yer wings clipped

 

i cant believe you have to pay for dental work in yrou country ?!?!?!?!?! but they want you to join teh freaking army and die for it?!?!?!?!?

 

Same shits happening to me, but I'm only 25 and have taken good care of my health and teeth. I have two root canals that have been without crowns for years, and now I have another root canal I need done, meanwhile my crownless teeth are finally beginning to chip away and rot. That's four teeth (back molar broke in half when I was 16) I'm down so far and I'm still young. Neither of the two dentists I went to were able to stop the infections I have in my cheek bones from the root canals. No idea what the future holds, but it looks like I retired from traveling when I was a mere 23 years old. Be thankful for the time you had on the road is the message of my post, I suppose, I dunno. Work hard and good things will come to you. Good luck.