SUNDAY DECEMBER 22, 2019

Christmas is in a few days and my life is finally turning in the right direction.

I’m thirty-two-going-on-thirty-three and was finally able to buy a house.

It is an older wood frame house on a corner lot in the suburbs and one of the oldest houses on the block.

My house may not be the best but it’s the best I could ever dare hope for.

The reason I say this is because I get a disability pension for being schizophrenic, but my illness is well controlled with medication and therapy.

Because of this disability pension, I can pay the note on my house and all the other expenses.

I didn’t have that many possessions, so I quickly moved in.

I walk out my front door, down the steps, across my front yard, and exit through the gate of my cyclone fence.

I begin walking along the sidewalk to survey the neighborhood.

My next-door neighbor, an older man, gives me a dirty look, then spits on the ground.

I don’t even acknowledge him.

A middle-aged couple is walking and they greet me warmly.

“I don’t think we’ve seen you around here before, young man,” The woman says.

“I’m new to the neighborhood. In fact, I just moved in today,” I reply.

“What is your address?” The man asks me.

I give it to him.

“Oh, yes. There is a hateful old man that is right next door to you. Avoid him at all costs,” The woman says.

“Yes. He thinks everyone should kiss his behind because he’s a veteran, when in reality he only served in the military to avoid jail time,” The man interjects.

“Now honey, all we can do is pray for people like that.”

“You’re right darling,” The man says, then asks, looking at me, “Speaking of prayer, tell me, young man, are you a Christian?”

“Well, I haven’t lived the best life, but at least I’ve been washed by The Blood, and everyone else may give up on me but God is always right there. I love Him for that and so much more!” I reply.

“Is there any church you go to?”

“No, I moved here from out of town and was hoping to find a church.”

“We’d love for you to come to church with us,” The woman says.

“I don’t have a vehicle at the moment though.”

“We’ll be glad to drive you there, we’ll even pick you up from your house!” The man adds in.

“Okay, then I would be honored to come to church with you!”

“Great, we have an evening service tomorrow, as on every Monday and Wednesday, and, of course, the main service is on Sunday,”

The lady pulls out her smartphone and says, “We’d like your contact information.”

I give it to them.

The man also takes out his smartphone and they both enter my name and phone number.

They then give me their information and I program it into my phone.

“Well, we need to finish our exercise, but give us a buzz if you need anything at all,” The man says.

“And we will pick you up around five PM tomorrow evening for church,” The woman adds in.

“It was awesome meeting, y’all,” I say.

They both nod.

I’m getting hungry and there is no food in my house, so I walk around to find a place to eat.

I see a corner store and I enter.

I browse around until I see some microwavable jalapeno cheeseburgers, just like the ones I used to eat in my old town.

I select two of them and also a Pepsi from the soft drink fountain.

I then pay for my items with my debit card, then walk to the microwave and heat one of my cheeseburgers for thirty seconds.

When it is done, I sit at the dining table, say grace, and eat.

After eating I sip on my drink and watch the people go in and out.

I then buy two liters of Pepsi, then leave the store and head home.

Finally, I am in front of my house, so I enter the cyclone fence and cut across my front yard as my neighbor stares at me. I continue up my steps and I enter my front door, locking it behind me.

I place the cheeseburger and the Pepsi bottle in my refrigerator, then go to my living room and log on to my computer.

My home Internet service hasn’t been set up yet, so I plug my smartphone into my computer to use as a tethered modem.

I browse the Internet for a while and do some writing for my blog, mostly about my new life.

Hours pass.

I’m hungry again, so I warm up the other cheeseburger and then pour myself a glass of Pepsi.

Then I take my EDC backpack and remove the vial of Geodon from it.

The microwave beeps, so I eat the cheeseburger then take two 80 mg capsules of Geodon and wash it all down with Pepsi.

Soon enough I am sleepy and I crash on my living room sofa until Noon the next day…

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