Paradise on Wheels

In my previously posts, I wrote about my job driving cripples and smelly old people around. One frequent stop was any of the trailer parks that litter most of Lake County, Ohio. There are small ones tucked away behind shopping centers and factories in the western half of the county. These are basically empty lots with poor people living in them. But in the eastern half, there are full blown fiefdoms the size of small European countries that are nothing but mobile homes.

They have glamorous names like Sahara and Paradise. The "street" names(basically dirt paths) are exotic sounding like Waikiki, Mauna Loa, and IckyPickuptrucka. The traditional set up for a mobile home is a yard the size of a welcome mat, a tin overhang meant to mimic the roof of a patio, folding chairs, religious paraphernalia(stones with the enscription of "he is my shepard") and empty packs of cigarettes.

You might think I am belittling these folks(maybe just a little), but I find these communities to be fascinating! It feels like entering a hippy commune or some other secret compound when you drive into one. And if you're not careful, you can become lost and remain there for an indefinite period of time. I should try driving through one now with my gps and see if it has their bootleg streets programmaed into it. Another thing I'm in awe of is how these people can live apart from normal society in such secluded self contained worlds. Sorry, maybe that also applies to gated communities. Come to think of it, they aren't that far apart...winding fake streets, generic housing stock, inbreeding. 

You know what they say, if you don't like your neighbors, you can just drive your house somewhere else. Anyway, I really do miss cruising through those places. They were an alternate reality. They were a visit to Never Never Bathe Land without doing drugs. Though I'm sure the places were rife with illegal substances. Maybe someday when I alienate everyone I know, I'll end up in one.