The trailer park where my trailer was located sold the land and demanded that everyone leave the premises. I had no money with which to move my trailer, nor did I have the time that they allotted for me to do it. So I left it behind and abandoned my mortgage. I had no choice.
I moved into an apartment on Richmond Road, with a swimming pool. It was harder to take my dogs for walks because we lived in an upstairs apartment, but I made sure to do it every morning before I left for work and every night when I came home. And because I didn't want them to mess up the apartment, I would lock them in the bathroom while I would work.
I had to move Fred and Gary back to the apartments where they were before they moved in with me. Fred had already had a stroke, and I had done this before the trailer park had been sold because they needed to be closer to where they could get help. And because I felt they weren't following the rules of the house as far as cleanliness.
I still tried to help them out as much as I could though.
I received two speeding tickets, one while delivering a doordash, before February.
And there was snow that blanketed the whole state of Texas. Texarkana got a significant amount. And because no one wanted to drive, Uber drivers were scarce. Not to mention, there weren't that many Uber drivers at the time because of covid.
One day, when I got the courage to venture out and try to work in the mess that ensued, I made over $200 in less than 3 hours. Uber was giving us hazard pay, and customers were tipping like crazy! It was awesome!
I went and picked up my son and his girlfriend in Austin, Texas when the weather got warmer. On the way back, I was going through a very small, "blink your eyes and you'll miss it", town. The speed limit was 35, then it gradually raised itself to 60.
A cop pulled me over saying I was speeding at the 60 MPH sign.
If I had gotten one more speeding ticket I would have lost my Uber privileges. They would have deactivated me from the platform.
I told him I was not speeding. He said he clocked me going 60 mph. I told him the speed limit is 60 mph! Look at the sign!
He started laughing. He said I was going 60 MPH when it was 35 mph a few miles back.
I asked him what took him so long, then! Why didn't he stop me whenever I was at the 35 mph zone!
He said it took him a while to turn around.
Finally, frustrated, I told him, "I'm an Uber driver. I've already got two tickets. I can't get another ticket or I will lose my job. Please don't write me a ticket! I just went to Austin to pick up my son and his girlfriend to take them back to Texarkana. I stopped in Nocona to see my other son, but he was not able to be seen. I am frustrated, tired, and I just want to go home. Please do not write me a ticket!"
He was nice enough to give me a warning. I praised God all the way home! And, for the next two years I drove very carefully.
Later, I decided I wanted to go see my friend that I hadn't seen since high school. She lived in Indianapolis. I was going to travel all the way to Indianapolis and visit with her for a week. But I couldn't afford it without working. So I did Uber Eats and Doordash all the way to Indianapolis!
When I got across the Illinois state line, all of my apps shut off. Turns out that Illinois doesn't like out of state drivers working in their state. It was disconcerting, to say the least. I was unsure if I was going to be able to do Uber Eats and Doordash again before I came home! But, as I crossed the Indiana state line, all of my apps came back on. I was so relieved!
I visited with her and worked the apps for the whole week. I didn't miss out on paying any of my bills.
On Saturday, she and her dad took me to an Amish village for sightseeing. We passed a working outdoor movie theater on the way! We shopped at an Amish grocery store, and we ate at an Amish restaurant! It was really good!
On Sunday, my aunt called me and told me my dad was sick and in the hospital, and that I was needed back home. I had planned to stay for a month. But, family duty called.
I worked my way back to Texarkana to try to deal with that mess. My dad was irritable and ended up throwing me out, so I washed my hands and told my aunt that I wasn't going to watch him kill himself, and to let me know if they needed anything from me, otherwise I was going to stay away.
There really wasn't much else I could have done at that point.
In November I had gone to eat at a Chinese buffet for lunch. I was coming back down the loop, to turn left on Highway 82, to go use the restroom at the Exxon that was caddy corner.
I was in the lane on the right that was designated for turning left or going straight. There was a car on my right that was in the turn only lane. I was planning to use the restroom and then turn the apps on to go back to work; so, thank God my apps were off.
As I went to make the turn, the guy in the turn lane decided to go straight and plowed my driver's side door. Luckily I had a witness who used to work for the police department. No one got a ticket.
However, the insurance company did not want to pay me. So I desperately sought help because my car was totaled. And I was still paying for it.
A friend of mine was a lawyer. I presented her with all of my paperwork, including the police report. And she heroically went to bat for me! But, my Christmas was ruined. I had no vehicle, and no way to work until the matter was settled, which took about 2 months.
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