It was September 11 and the sight of the buildings falling was a shock like I had never felt. The sadness for the people having to deal with this tragedy was overwhelming but a part of me felt like it was bound to happen with all the meddling in other people’s affairs that the U.S. government does. One thing was for sure, life would never be the same again. I knew that maniac Bush and his psychotic side-kick Cheney would use it to unleash all kinds of horrible things into the world, I only wish I had been wrong. I started to notice a change locally almost immediately. All the laws that were on the books but not enforced, were starting to be fully enforced. I saw the cops take away a runner one day outside Central station and found out later that he was deported. I felt lucky it had not been me and changed my way of working immediately. I no longer would go near the station choosing to hang out at the more popular hostels and wait for them to be full and pick off the folks they turned away. It worked well at first but I knew winter was coming and it would become near impossible then. To top it all off the owner told us all that she was selling the business and that we should all prepare to find new jobs.
During the last week of September I got a pleasant surprise as my phone rings and its my friend Greg from Washington ( the one who helped me escape ) he was at Central Station and needed a place to crash. I told him he was always welcome at my place and 15 minutes later he was knocking on my door. Imagine my surprise when he brings a big bike box in and tells me he brought my bike from Washington. I was moved by the gesture as it must have been a pain in the ass to travel with. We sat down and smoked weed until we both passed out, it was a great day. The next morning while preparing breakfast the inevitable subject of 9-11 came up. While we agreed that it was a tragedy that should have never happened we came to loggerheads about what the reaction should be. I thought it should be a time of reflection and look at what would make someone want to do this and maybe it was time to change the American role in the world. Greg on the other hand was a fierce supporter of Bush and proposed immediate action. He wanted the military to level any country that disagreed with America. I tried to explain that the surveillance state apparatus that was being constructed would also be used against the people of the U.S. He did not want to hear it and we had more than a few heated debated about it. In the end we decided to agree to disagree and let history be the judge. We never talked about it again but I think he gave a silent surrender when he moved to Cambodia a few years later.
Frank returned in early October as planned, he brought crazy tales of being a lone, white traveller through the dark continent. It did not sound very fun but he said he loved it and couldn’t wait to go back. I thought he was nuts but it was good to have my best bud back. We picked up where we left off and spent the day in a cloudy haze of hash and weed. With that life started returning to the normal uneventful routine. Frank joined back up with the WYAM folks and I started to hang out with Tim more frequently. One day he calls me and says he has a cat that he has to get rid of and I am her last hope, otherwise he would take her to a shelter and we all know what happens to unwanted pets at shelters. Even though I knew that I was in no position to make that kind of commitment, I felt I owed this cat a chance to have a good life so I told him to bring her over. She was a one year old all black cat and she was shy but I could see she was not aggressive so I said I would take her. I’d had a couple of cats in my past but had not been the best owner and thought this would give me the chance to redeem myself. I would treat this cat with nothing but love and affection, vowing never to act out in anger towards her. Within a few hours she came out of hiding and jumped up into my lap, I knew at that moment that this cat and I were going to have a good, long relationship together.
Things started changing fast as the year was winding down. Frank decided that it was too hard trying to work with the cops busting people all the time so he decided to head back to the states and get a legitimate job. The owner of the BA announced in early December that the place had been sold and the new owners would be taking over on the first of the year. They planned to keep it as a hotel and we would all have a chance to keep our jobs. With having to pay for the boat on my own, it was a relief to know that I would still have a way to pay. The other big change was the impending arrival of the Euro on the first of the year. No one I talked to was happy about it as it would cut the amount of money we had by over half. Sure it was said that prices would adjust accordingly but I was sceptical of that logic and could see rising prices not too far off. When the new owners took over in January they did give everyone an offer for a job and some took it. With me they would not give me a salary and instead wanted me to go back to commission work like when I first started. It was winter and with no tourists around added to the tenacity of the cops, I turned them down and decided to try something different. Jamie had put me in touch with a friend of his who made sushi and sold it to local restaurants and fish shops. my job was to help making the sushi and then deliver it to the various places around town. It was easy work but I was making nowhere near the money I had made at the BA and my bankroll started to shrink. I knew I had to find something more but it was not going to be easy with my situation. One day I was chatting with the owner of a sandwich shop I delivered to and he asked me if I would be interested in delivering sandwiches for the lunchtime crowd for him. This was it, the extra work I had been looking for and I said yes straight away. It worked out perfect as I was done with the sushi job around 11 and started the sandwich shop job 30 minutes later. They gave me a moped to deliver with and assured me that I did not need a license to ride it. With that I was back to making enough money to cover the rent but not much more and I was still dwindling my bank roll. A few of my former co-workers stayed at the BA and I would visit with them regularly. One of the desk attendants that I was on friendly terms with needed a place to stay and inquired about maybe staying on the boat. His name was Curtis, he was a flamboyant little guy from England. Although I did like him, the boat was very small and I was a bit apprehensive as to how we would get along having such different lifestyles. I decided to help him out and give it a go, besides the extra money would be nice. So it began my journey into being a landlord, even though the boat was something I had sorted out, I had always thought of it as ours when it came to Frank or Kurt but from now on it would be mine and anyone who rented from me would have to make the adjustments to accommodate me. Many changes were coming fast but one thing was still unchanged…I was still loving life, and Amsterdam, as much as ever.
A Continuing Story About Life On The Run