Vernon & I are wonderfully blessed to be in the possession of a sturdy 1988 Nissan Stanza. It has cute little deficits, runs a wee bit ragged but it functions extremely well as our current house.
Having spent a blistering hot summer without shelter, we consider any kind of roof over our heads as truly a God-send.
Even when funds were available, it was very easy to weigh up the pro’s & con’s of getting one night in a flea bag, bed bug ridden motel on Dickerson road versus finding a dry comfortable park area, setting up camp and actually having money left over for other somewhat important things such as eating, a nice cup of coffee, or a fresh cigarette to smoke.
So, thankfully we have a car to hang out in, dine in and sleep in (quite comfortably, too). It’s a place to call our home, or our humorously our mobile crib…
Since the weather is chilly at night we have to consider if there will be enough gas in the tank to idle the car all night or start her up periodically for warmth. It certainly helps to layer up on clothing and hang drapes of some kind over the windows.
Urban campers we remain!
Seeking a quiet night’s sleep in any one of Nashville’s Wal-Mart parking lots makes for usually a problem free stay as there are regular rounds by security personnel in white trucks and apparently, the powers that be are pretty tolerant of overnight visitors.
Even truck drivers pull in for a safe night’s rest…
And the morning’s are filled with the beauty of a glorious sunrise, this greeted us today, with an awesome 360 degree view from our room…
…it also reassured us that life is good,
…that God is in charge,
and what will be will be.
One peril of urban camping is the constant threat of imperial entanglement, or a flashlight in the face, waking you up at 02:30 by a curious Metro Police officer.
Now if we were on the streets and without the mechanical safety of an automobile this would mean big trouble…perhaps, a warning and a gruff ’Move it along’ after ID’s are scrutinized or worse still a citation for trespassing and a subsequent court date.
We have taken all these stressors of urban camping in good stride, making the best of even the most dire of situations…prefering to stay together, keep each other safe, be trusted companions on life’s road of many up’s and down’s…
After all, home really is where the heart is…
And there is always a warm cup of coffee and a nice friendly, smiling face in the form of Dan @ the Exxon, across the street…
Vernon wrote a kick-ass song called Cadillac Tennessee, which is track #7 on John Damian’s newly released, debut album from Reptile Records of Nashville, Tn.
John most certainly does Vernon’s’ songs justice & Cadillac Tennessee is a complete roof raiser!!!
Please visit www.johndamianmusic.com for more information about this awesome new performer. (by the way, track #6: Gingerbread Man is also written by Vernon Rust).
Check it out here on You Tube where he performs live on stage at the Warehouse in Shreveport, La with Cody Cook, Jackie Brock and Ryan Dougherty…
