The following is the first chapter of my first book chartering my time homeless.
CHAPTER ONE
“Just pack your bags and go!”
Those enduring words would last for years to come.
Gordon couldn’t have been less prepared for this if he tried. It did seem to come completely out of the blue. To him it did, anyway. In reality though, he had been given a week’s notice; a warning which had gone unheeded. Exactly seven days previous, his mother had taken off on a jaunt to Spain with her boyfriend. Instead of leaving any inspirational or loving parting words to her son, she left a note. The note indeed was neither inspirational nor loving. It ready simply that by the time she returned, she expected Gordon to have left home. The irony certainly wasn’t lost in that senseless letter. She was flying out to enjoy herself for a week in Spain, whilst her son was supposed to become homeless! Within the letter, she cited money issues as one reason for her actions and yet she was still affording a holiday overseas.
During that one week’s grace period, Gordon conveniently forgot to mention his eviction notice to his brothers. He simply continued as if nothing had happened. Mind you, the likelihood was, in his mind, nothing was going to happen. Afterall, it didn’t seem a very likely scenario. I mean, the days and months leading up to that fateful day in September hadn’t really suggested anything untoward was about to befall the all too young Gordon. He hadn’t gotten on too well with his mother’s new man, but then they only stayed at the house three or four times a week. The rest of the time, Gordon would go out of his way to stay out of their way. So, what was the problem?
Even with Albert’s clear disdain for his new found stepsons, Gordon wasn’t horrible to him. On the contrary, our ‘hero’ was the first and only sibling to congratulate and shake his hand upon the announcement of his mother’s engagement. That’s just the sort of young man our Gordon was. He could put aside his differences for the greater good.
What now for the inexperienced non-streetwise youth who had no life knowledge whatsoever? Given this point of view, one may wonder just what his mother was thinking. Did Gordon really do something or behave in some way which warranted this type of cruel?
The official reason, we think, was so his mother could teach her offspring how to survive on his own or stand on his own two feet. Sound familiar? Perhaps your parents pulled the same trick? It could have worked. However, the reality was very much different. Gordon would spend the next three months of his life trying to escape that very reality.
With those hard-hitting words of wisdom Gordon was deemed to be a homeless/without a home/tramp-like vagabond. Perhaps in that situation you may have quickly got your gear together and taken off to find accommodation and perform any other necessary tasks in order to secure your immediate future. Gordon, however, packed his backpack with as many clothes as he possibly could and duly walked out of the house for the final time. As he walked down the garden path, he took his bag from his shoulder and dropped it just inside the garden gate and strode off without it. Why did he do this? Well, you know he wouldn’t want to lug a heavy bag around with him all day. Afterall, he had no intention of doing anything meaningful that day. Actually, he had no idea just what he would be doing either during the day or, indeed, that night. Trust me, it wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in getting sorted; it was more that he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Gordon was very shy when it cam to anything related to talking to people he didn’t know, so asking the authorities was out of the question.
A little insight into the mindset of Gordon’s mother:
1. Her son would tell the authorities of his situation.
2. The relevant department would offer him somewhere to stay.
Really, it would be that simple. You have to ask yourself, in who’s world was that ever going to happen?