I slept downstairs on a bed that is positioned right in the living room at Mike’s cabin. It has a very woodsy feel. The cabin has an all wood finish.
The night before Mike had told us a story about his neighbor. A man who he had met by chance while doing yard work at his cabin. Mike became good friends with this man. Mike’s neighbor took care of a retail/antique shop next to Mike’s cabin. There was also an apartment attached to the store. The man had a trusty old German Shepherd. Mike would go up every weekend to work on his cabin to refinish it, and he would spend a good amount of time with his neighbor who became a good friend of his.
Mike told of the day in the winter that he went to check on his friend. The door to his friend’s apartment was open so Mike walked in. Mike heard noises coming from his friend’s office. When he opened the door he saw the man’s 90-year-old father standing over his son who had shot himself in the head, and had also shot the dog in the head. It was a tragic event, Mike’s neighbor and friend had taken his own life and the life of his dog because he was in severe pain due to hip and back issues.
Through this tragedy Mike had become really good friends with the parents of his neighbor and friend. The parents lived in a small house a little ways behind the antique shop. The mother and father of his neighbor were both advanced in age over 90 years old, and Mike took it upon himself to become their caregivers after the passing of their son.
In return for Mike’s kindness, the elderly parents offered Mike the sale of their son’s possessions at reduced cost, as well as the sale of their property when they are too old to live there or pass away. I was really touched by this story. Mike has a magnificent heart and it shows in his ability to not only be successful in life and business, but being in the right place at the right time to help those in need.
In the morning Mike showed Joey and I around the old antique shop, showed us some of the cool stuff that his friend had left behind. We then went over to Mike’s friend’s elderly parent’s cottage and we put in air conditioning units. Only the old man was present, his wife was in the hospital due to complications in health from her age. It felt good to help out the old man.
After finishing up with chores, we went to North Conway, we ate lunch at a local tavern. There was a big craft fair at the park in North common right across from the tavern we ate lunch at.
Mike was excited because the guy that built a lot of the furniture for his house was there trying to sell chairs, bureaus, bed sets, and little lamp holders made out of wood. Mike hadn’t spoken with this carpenter/woodsman extraordinar for quite some time. Mike was happy to see him. He builds everything entirely out of logs that he gets out of the forest behind his house. He had built a lot of the furniture that is in Mike’s log cabin now. The furniture builder promised to stay in touch with Mike since Mike would like to commission some new pieces for his cabin.
We walked around the craft fair and I bought two bracelets for my girlfriend. After the crafts fair we left North Conway and we drove back to the cabin. It was almost 3:00 p.m. and I had to leave because I was spending the evening with my girlfriend. It was about a 2 hour drive back.
When I arrived at my girlfriend’s apartment in Lowell it was around 5:30 p.m.
My girlfriend and I just hung out for the night. I’ve grown comfortable in my job, and once again I found myself getting into a routine. This is going to have to come to an end. I chose to work to help homeless people. But I feel that traveling and wrapping up my project and bringing a great story to people is more important. I want people to understand the state of addiction and mental health in America. I want people to understand how homelessness is a symptom of a deeper mental health crisis.