Getting Ziggy with it.

Here's my introduction!

I'm a Cajun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajuns currently living in Lafayette, Louisiana. The heart of Cajun Country! But I seem to be nomadic by nature and got my first real taste of exploring as a U. S. Marine. First, becoming a Marine got me away from home. Then it brought me to many new places with a lot to learn about.

Of course I did quite a bit of travel as a Marine. Learning new places and new cultures was the norm for me. Upon completion of my service, there seemed to be a void. I was home for a couple of years. Then I moved away for a couple of years. Next, I got a job on a gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. But that wasn't enough.

After finally conquering my abuse of alcohol--which started as a teen and was further amplified while a Marine--I became an over-the-road truck driver. As much as that career satisfied my nomadic nature, it also left me frustrated that there was so much more that I wanted to explore in places where you can't go with a big truck.

Alas, I am no longer qualified to drive a big truck. I discovered that I had atrial fibrillation when I was rushed to the hospital one night. Several months later my VA cardiologist implanted a device in my chest that renders me no longer able to pass the DOT physical. Since I no longer have that income, I will have to sell my house.

With the equity I have in my house, I will be able to return to a nomadic lifestyle. I just have to do it differently from the way I had imagined. I have been researching this for months and have gone through these stages:

• Get the 1995 Camaro Z28 fixed up and tow a small trailer behind it.
  • The car has been sitting in the garage with no engine for over a decade.
  • The engine builder has been an absolutely great, understanding guy with my engine just sitting there in his engine room.
  • There are small travel trailers out there that would not be too heavy for the car.
  • I would be counting on the visual impact of this vehicle combination. I have a perfectly good pick up truck with a diesel engine that is perfect for towing.
  • Instead of a regular travel trailer, I could get a cargo trailer and build it into a camper.
  • There are a lot of folks out there sharing their knowledge of this type of nomadic lifestyle. I've been watching their videos and learning a lot.
  • I used to tow a heavier weight on a regular basis with the other Camaro.

As you can see, a Camaro Z28 has no problem towing ~2200 pounds. In the picture you can see both the car and my "perfect" tow vehicle.

Of course, my friends on a car forum that I frequent are totally against the idea. No, not the idea of pulling a camper or anything. Against the idea of my installing my big ol' wing onto the back of the car! But I think it would add to the visual impact. But as they pointed out, it would probably just as likely turn folks away. And they also brought me back down to earth with their forewarnings of not being able to make money at it.

But I am still planning to sell the house and pay off all of my debt! After doing so, I should still have enough money left over to get the Camaro going and buy a trailer to haul it around in. But wait, there's more!

Holy smokes, I'm droning on much more than I expected to. I hope I haven't lost too many of you by violating Dale Carnegie's advice that somebody on here posted earlier. You know, the one about getting more friends by being interested instead of trying to be interesting. Not that I'm trying so hard to be interesting, but I'm spending so much time typing this out that I haven't been able to check out hardly anybody yet!

Back to my favorite topic: Me. Just kidding!

Anyhow, sometime during 2014 I brought the WaveRunners to the shop. While there, a couple of guys drove off on their Honda Groms. I was immediately in love!

As I researched vlogging and the nomadic lifestyle/van life I discovered a bunch of youngsters motovlogging while riding them. Then I learned about the Razkull which looks like a mini Ducati.

The Razkull is roughly half the price of the Grom and I like the looks even more than the Grom. However, there were other things such as carburetor versus fuel injection that were holding me back. But alluvasudden there was another contender--which is what I ended up buying. The Benelli TnT 135.

So far I love this bike! I can't believe I've deprived myself for over 30 years. Yup, it's been 3 decades since I've had a bike. And now that I have this one, it's pure torture! Yes, torture. I can't get into a class until October 19th. So for the next 2 months, I'll have to satisfy myself with just going up and down my little cul-de-sac getting used to the clutch and building my confidence.

So, now what I'd like to do is sell the house, pay everything off, get the car running, then buy a race car trailer that has a living space on it and enough room for the bike. With that I would be debt free with no more bills coming up. Well, except like fuel and repairs. I could go wherever I want and drive the car or ride the bike around and vlog my butt off. That is, if everything works out right.

I would need some type of income to be able to do this. And I'm not quite old enough to collect any retirement from either Social Security or my extremely modest Roth IRA. So I need income. I've dissuaded myself from thinking that vlogging would be a money-making enterprise for me. I mean, I might make some money but it will take time to build up the followership that would support such a venture.

That's why I'm hoping for disability. Of course, the most likely outcome for that is that they will say that my medical predicament only precludes me from truck driving and I can do some other type of work. They are reviewing my medical records to determine what they'll do--I just got a phone call a couple of hours ago saying such.

So I might have to find a job and then vlog when I can. If that happens, then I wouldn't be able to be as much of a travel vlogger as I'd like. Not only is there plenty to vlog about here in South Louisiana, once I sell the house there is nothing holding me here and I might just be able to find a job somewhere else. I like Florida. New stomping grounds to explore!

Anyhow, sorry about the autobiography. If you've made it this far, kudos!!! I'm looking forward to become friends with the lot of you.

Oh, and the name: ziggy-with-it? The consensus of my friends is that I should name my vlog "Getting Ziggy With It." Well, Steem wouldn't exactly allow that. Too many characters, no spaces or capitalization allowed. But, you know what? It works out because now you have to follow me to get Ziggy with it!