Living in Poverty - An American Slave - Memoirs of a Carpenter

I found a really cool post with a great story (http://killermartinis.kinja.com/why-i-make-terrible-decisions-or-poverty-thoughts-1450123558) Thank you for writing and puiblishing that, and thank you to everyone who reads it and shows any sign of 'empathy'
I have found several other stories on the web lately as well and thought I would throw mine out with the rest of them.

So this is a roough draft of my life so far - Belive me, there is tons more but I had to start somewhere.

The Florida Years 74 - 94
Occupation - carpenter/pipefitter - wages $5/hr - $10/hr
First ticket - driving without 'license' - 17 years old (1986)
driving the motorcycle that I worked for and paid for (i.e earned it)
first license - $260 after fines/fees
ticket - driving with no headlights(atlantic blvd, jax bch FL - 4 lane bouelvard lit up like it was daytime) - no insurance = $250/$500

First lost(stolen) vehicle - dec24th (raining) - car broke down(station wagon), wife called for help - car 'towed'

Laid off from pipefitting job - (Atlantic Marine - Mayport NAS - SRA - Uss Saratoga - Aircraft Carrier)
$400/mo winter electric bills leads to first eviction process
First born contracted RSV - almost died (medicaid in the south , county hospital turned us away twice - the third time they finally admitted us and little Jake quit breathing in my arms)
Court house issues a stay of eviction (10 extra days due to hospitalized child)- secretary doesnt make phone call to sheriff
Found most possesions in the street (Landlord kept all the childrens x-mas presents to give to her grandson)- Police told us they would arrest us for trespass/disturbing the peace if I tried to salvage what was left of our possesions sitting on the side of the street.


Quick Omaha stay
Left for Omaha Ne -by train - Feb 11th
Arrived Omaha Ne Feb 14th 1am (got 18inches of snow that night)
Built several houses - best one - 14,000 sq ft (roughly 1 acre floor space)
Achieved my GED
Bought red conversion van - $650-$750
Left for seattle wa - july


Seattle Years 94 - 2000
Apartment (quad-plex)
Carpenter - piece work - monthly pay
Employer goes bankrupt - doesnt tell anyone till payday - lost a months wages $2000-$2400

Borrowed money from family to move
Mobile Home/Trailer Park
First episode of 'reactionary migraine' while wife is 6 moths pregnant with 2nd child
Life-Flighted to Harbor View Medical - seattle wa


Ticket - 45mph in 40mph - pay for rent/food/necessities or ticket ? - license suspended
Red van dies - unable to repair
Took the bus to work
Second lost(stolen) vehicle - green car($500 - wouldnt pass emissions test) - invalid temporary tags/no insurance - towed
Got lucky and found a cheap station wagon for $500
Mobile Home Park gets new owners - refusal to accept late payments leads to 65 family evictions
my first true homeless experience
Wife finds seattle shelter on my birthday (6/25) - great present ;)
First temporary shelter in house (30 days)
Followed by downtown shelter
wife took community college classes - medical reception
I took a bus to first computer classes - A+certification
Followed by subsidized housing
computer repair (actually printer repair) - min wage
fired for missing two days to care for a sick child
License reinstated - $1000+ - seattle
Left seattle june 27th 2000


Omaha Years  2000-2004
Arrive July 4th
Worked as temp for HP/Compaq ($10/hr) during HP takeover (hiring freeze).
Constantly changing schedule - erratic hours - going to comunity college
back surgery - disc ectomy L4-L5

re-educated - achieved associates degree
Ne - white aerostar - just cashed tax refund, had 2k cash in my pocket to get insurace - cop was an asshole and still gave no insurance ticket - leads to suspended license
Third lost(stolen) vehicle - red conversion van($1200) - invalid tags - towed
Also got assaulted and arrested and jailed on this one too. I would have done better with a public defender, my shitty $500 lawyer only got 1 charge dropped.

License reinstated - $1000+ fees/fines omaha ne

Oregon Years 2004-2008
Pulled over for bad running light - no insurance ticket - leads to suspended license
No computer work leads to carpentry work again - worked for ~6 months till my back went out again
(This is where the fight for disability begins)
Pulled over in front of my house - driving w/suspended license - expired tags
Fourth lost(stolen) vehicle - red conversion van($2000) - oregon
No vehicle and no income leads to eviction
lived in a hotel for 2 weeks
wife found a subsidized apt at the last second - kept us from being %100 homeless
License reinstated -  Nov 2008 - $1200 - oregon


Seattle Years  2008 - 2010
The one true regret I have in life.
I will write about this brief period of my life later.

Omaha Years Aug 2010 - 2013
Temp job manufacturing / installing vinyl windows ~3 months
I can't believe I lasted that long doing contruction again. It felt good to use my talents but damn it was painful.

Door to door sales - pulled over by over-zealous police with a miltary attidue at least once a week. There were a few days that we wre pulled over several times.
police followed me for hours until pulling me over for 'failure to complete stop at stop sign' - it was late (after 10pm) and no other traffic for miles.
license suspended - ticket ($135)
Iowa stop - speeding / driving w/suspend license - unable to get to court - $500


Now
Having back problems/pain/depression.
Living in my Aunts basement - with not a damn thing to show for my life.