Bus-ted

My friend "Typhoon" had been living in his bus for a couple of years now. It's one of those smaller ones, just larger than a typical "van". It finally got towed a few days ago, because he'd fallen behind on registration fees. This is a major disaster for many that are living in their vehicles.

He also had a temporary guest staying with him, who arrived there while the towing was underway. She's got a terminal illness and they wouldn't even allow her entry to retrieve her medications -- because she isn't the owner. So they took the vehicle and everything in it.

Often, or usually, this means that the owner is going to just lose their vehicle/home, since the fees and fines for the towing and the additional daily ransom charges are more than a person can muster right away. If they'd had the cash, they could've paid the registration and avoided the seizure in the first place. So the vehicle is heading for the auction and the tow lot will get the proceeds, paying themselves for having gone and gotten it.

Meanwhile, the clock's also ticking on how long is allowed for a person to go retrieve whatever belongings were inside. That is, whatever might be left, since theft is common. Who has a documented inventory of everything to prove what was there? And, of course, there's a fee and a cumbersome process to get an official access permit. Each time.

I've managed to keep a commercial storage unit for some of my own belongings, in all this time. Often, just barely, which is a precarious monthly challenge of raising enough funds to meet that rent to keep virtually all I own from getting seized and sold off there. So I pay a couple of hundred monthly so that my stuff is safely indoors, even with heat/air conditioning, while I sleep outdoors.

I juggled things and made some space and Typhoon borrowed a pickup truck, did the drill and brought some of his things over there, where we've stashed it all, for now. My storage rent day is directly ahead and I've managed to rustle it up, once more, which will leave me with precious few dollars in the pocket.

Just days before Typhoon's bus got taken, he'd been notified that he has been successfully qualified and will be receiving monthly benefit payments, which are to commence in about two weeks. He'll be able to get another vehicle so just has to "rough it" until then.

I don't receive any such benefits or payments.