Nomadic?

I originally wrote this piece on June 26, 2023 with the title: The nomadic family (a chronology, as I experienced it). I have edited out a couple of names and added a few details to publish it on here. Obviously, this portion was also edited in.

I was born in 1962. My parents lived in a small apartment in El Vedado in Havana at the time. Two years later they moved to a farm owned by my grandfather and his brother outside of Artemisa until we left Cuba.

On July 23 of 1971, we left Cuba for the United States.

From 1971 to 1972, we lived in Hoboken, NJ. In 1972, we moved to Atlanta, Georgia via train leaving all furniture behind. In 1974, we moved to Decatur, Ga. Parents bought new furniture for the apartment.

In 1978, we moved to San Antonio, Texas. A friend drove the moving truck. I went to high school in San Antonio.

Around the New Year, or the end of 1981 my parents moved back to New Jersey. My father started an evangelical church there. I stayed behind in Texas until May of 1982 when I finished high school, and then I sold my car (a blue 1971 Ford Maverick), and flew to NJ to live with them.

In New Jersey, I helped in my father's church with the music. I also started college in Jersey City. For a while we rented the second floor of a house on seventy-something street between Kennedy and Tonelli Avenues. The house was owned by a family who were members of my father's church. Basically, they got rid of their Armenian renters who were there previously in order for us to move in. My father had an affair with the wife, and immediately his church ended. We also had to move out due to the scandal. We stayed in NJ for a little while in a different apartment, and moved back to Atlanta, GA in 1984. I learned to drive stick, and drove our moving truck back.

In Georgia, I attended Georgia State University for a couple of years. In early1986, we moved back to San Antonio, Texas. I drove the moving truck while towing my 1983 Toyota Starlet in back.

In Texas, I was supposed to register at the University of Texas, but never did. I worked at W. W. Grainger for a while and was laid off. The Texas oil economy wasn't doing well then. I helped in the music at a small church for a while. On my birthday in 1987, I moved to South Florida. I drove my Toyota and a friend helped. I moved in with cousins. Less than a year later in 1988, my father decided to move to South Florida. I flew from Fort Lauderdale to Houston and then to San Antonio to help with the move. In 1988, I drove the moving truck from San Antonio to South Florida. I moved in with my parents until getting married later that same year, or in 1989, perhaps.

I have lived in South Florida since 1987, but those first 16 or 17 years in the United States we were a bit nomadic. Years later, I finally finished college here in South Florida, and two graduate degrees followed. I also incurred a substantial amount of debt in doing so. My parents never really offered to assist in my education, nor did they ever ask me to attend college. I also didn't ask them. My mother died in 2014, and my father died this year in 2023. Obviously, this is simply a summary of all the moving around. In case someone didn't know the story, this is basically it. I will turn 61 this year. I have a 28 year old son from my second marriage. I also married a third and fourth time, but to the same person. Still, I believe leaving Cuba was the best decision my father ever made in his life. Sometimes people look better because of those who honor them, and not so much because of their own actions. These days I subscribe more to Anglican theology and The Common Book of Prayer, but that's another story. I will stop right here. Again, this is just a summary. It's not a complaint of any sort, just in case some might misinterpret. 

This is a last minute side note, I decided to add. Although, this is relevant to my experience, I would add that while living on Seventy-something Street in New Jersey (town not mentioned) my brother joined the US Army full time. Both he and I were planning to join the Army reserve, but he decided differently and I decided to just continue working while going to college. My brother had also finished high school early. My sister probably attended three or four different high schools and eventually graduated in Georgia due to the moving.

            Man is like unto a breath; His days are as a shadow that passeth away.

                - Psalm 144:4

Man is like un