“My wife left me back in Michigan after I started getting all strung out from the meds I was on after my surgery. I had spinal cancer in the neck. I had surgery where they went into my spine and cut out the cancerous part of the vertebrae and replaced them with titanium steel and pins and springs. They found out about it after I went in because of a ruptured vertebra. Two days after that I had surgery to take the infected areas out, on my birthday actually.
After surgery, I had to teach myself to walk again. That took almost a year. The meds would make me really crazy, I was losing myself all the time. Eventually, my wife couldn’t take it anymore and left me. Six months after my wife left me I came down here to help my step-mother who had pneumonia. When it was time to go back, I stayed because I met a girl. Things were going great but eventually we just decided to end things and I’ve been here ever since.”
“I was in the marines a while back. I was a sniper scout. My job was to go find spots for the snipers to take aim for targets that ground soldiers can’t take. I did that for six years. Since my time in the marines, I’ve become ultra-paranoid. I’m always on edge, I’m always looking over my shoulder. I direct everything I see. There’s a reason the wind is blowing that way, there’s a reason that guy is walking that way, there’s a reason that kid just got out of his car. I’m always alert. I have to be out here anyways, people will steal your shit if you aren’t on top of it. “
