Tiny House
Nancy and I have long been fascinated by the “Tiny House” movement — the idea that a 
person’s home should provide basic and comfortable shelter, but require only a minimal amount of expense and maintenance, thus allowing a spaciousness and freedom in life. For a couple our age, the “Tiny House” turns out to be a good sized 5th Wheel travel trailer – comfortable and affordable.
For years we have taken hesitant steps, occasional leaps, and the odd tumble toward a simple, free, and joyful life. Long ago we left traditional careers and with them traditional income and security. We have moved many times, experimenting and finding out what worked and what didn’t. Over the past 20 years we have talked of simplicity but have been able to live in nice houses with quite a few perks because of a little supplement each month from a modest inheritance. That supplement has come to a close and we have to take a further step into appropriate living.
A travel trailer is, to be honest, what we can reasonably afford and what will allow us freedom to do our work. My sister owns a couple of acres and a rustic vacation cabin here in Mount Shasta and we will set our 5th Wheel down there with her blessing. If our work begins to earn more in the future, we may add some extras – storage, etc. This is where we will spend our remaining years, and we hope and trust they will be filled with writing, publishing, book binding, and keeping our two small candles burning all the way down to the end.
We are delighted to be finding a more apt lifestyle, but it is a disturbing move in some ways. For all our talk of simple living, we now look around at the stuff that will have to be sold, given away, or stored before we move and we feel a sense of loss and sadness, as if we are losing something of our own self-definition. We’ve begun looking at 5th Wheel trailers and are attracted by the compactness and simplicity offered, but uneasy at the cramped storage, the small bathroom, the three-burner stove, and the oven that will bake one loaf of bread at a time. “This is going to be interesting!” we say to each other.
When will we make this move? Probably pretty soon, perhaps even before winter sets in, but certainly by early spring. Finding workshop space for the binding and repair work will effect the timing. Our focus is to have our living space be in service of our work.
The payments on the trailer will be affordable at our current income, but the improvements necessary to enable us to settle in will be a stretch and may take us several years of some kind of “camping out.” Many of my readers have called and written over the years saying, “Your work is very important to me. If you ever need help, just let me know.” I deeply appreciate these offers and I am letting you know now.
The fact is that being a “successful writer” does not translate into earning power in today’s publishing world. I have readers and students around the world, my books have been translated into eight languages, all of my books still in print, and am consistently in the top ten percent of Amazon authors, yet my royalties amount to between ten and fifteen thousand dollars each year. So… we believe we have found the most appropriate and economical way to do the work that is ours to do. But we could use some help.
It is a bit awkward for me to raise this issue. I’m trying to find ways for the expressions of appreciation and value of my work that friends and readers have shared over the years to be expressed in tangible forms that will help us continue to offer our gifts. If my books and other writings have been, and continue to be, of value to you, would you consider helping us make this transition?
If you would like to talk with me about this, call me at 530-321-5393 (the cell phone service is sometimes spotty so please leave a message if you don’t reach me.) You can email me at: williaminshasta@gmail.com. You can write me at PO Box 982, Mount Shasta, CA 96067
Thanks for everything,
Bill
