2500 Light Years From Home

Hello there! My name is Khalid Horus Makalani and I am a Poet struggling with constant tribulations here in my hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I have been homeless technically since I moved back here from Atlanta, Georgia in 2015; but in the strictest sense of the word (as in ON THE STREETS) since September 1, 2022. It has proven to be the greatest challenge I have had to face and being raised on a farm as a child truly awakened my innate survivalist skills and put my Cancerian patience and endurance to the test. I'm a Summer baby so the cold Winter nights and mornings have truly been crushing me alive. Fortunately I am currently employed but the juggle of costly eating out, credit card bills, and trying to save money seems like a slow upward climb. Nevertheless there is a light that keeps my focus in tact:

My girlfriend Sarah (affectionately known as Atepa) lives in Grants Pass, Oregon. We met on FACEBOOK and have been a couple since August 2020. She has displayed the purest form of devotion, support, and adoration for which a poor Poet down on his luck could ever hope - true warmth to comfort me in the cold despair. Naturally I need to be there with her and away from here where I have no peers (I'm the only Goth in this mundane jock college town), few close friends, and virtually no genuine family support. Not even a friend or relative where I can enjoy a warm night in a bed or sofa or anything indoors. All of this has truly scrambled my mental health having to work long hours at my job only to know that when I get off I have no guaranteed place to unwind, study, and sleep. Because of this you can guess that I'm severely underslept and am tired so often that it's literally maddening. I find myself nodding off here and there and my body just feels so ready to shut down a lot of the time. I need to get away from all this. Between the poor hygiene, lack of proper and adequate sleep, extreme loneliness, and feeling like I never have enough money for everything - the load is just beating me up here. I used to feel so much confidence and now I just feel like a downward spiral.

Which brings me to the NEW greatest challenge that I've had to face: relocating from Alabama to Oregon under these strenuous conditions. The biggest beam of Hope that I got last year was that an old high school pal who I ran into agreed to drive me and my belongings to Oregon, because before I was unsure how I was going to get my stuff there without paying an arm and a leg.

Adding up the costs of everything is just an estimate in some areas, but from what I DID calculate it goes something like this:

• 15' U-HAUL truck $1460

• Driver fee $1700

• Estimated fuel (260 gallons?) $ 963

• Reservation credit card $ 600

• 10' U-HAUL truck* $ 163

*I have some things in storage in another county in Alabama and since I don't driveI was going to have someone take this 10' U-HAUL there to retrieve them.

In all I'm asking for $5400 just in case something costs more than I estimated, something goes wrong (I'm living proof that it can happen), or to cover any fees I may incur from this fundraiser. For instance, when I moved from Alabama to Georgia in 2007 I rented a U-HAUL and used a credit card to reserve the rental. If anything happens like not enough fuel in the truck upon its return then they have to deduct from the credit card. That actually happened to me back then and my card was charged - a very unfortunate surprise. So this time I want to use a card with no balance so IF anything like that happens it can cover it. The credit card I plan to use is virtually maxed out now, so that $600 will empty it and make it available for whatever may come. Also any extra funds raised will cover whatever unexpected costs that may come because as a homeless Goth in a boring jock town I know all about expecting the unexpected.

Around 2500 miles away a world of Love, hope, and restoration awaits me. Any help will be tremendously appreciated as I have come to realize that I cannot do this on my own - and I am sadly very much on my own here. Thank you so much for your time and interest. Perhaps as a token of gratitude I will compose a Poem for each donor!

"But I want to remember another time

I want to remember living

I want to remember what it was like to feel

And to love.... and to laugh....."

- from "A Glowing Light, A Promise"

by Makeup And Vanity Set