Carl Update

Carl, as many of you know, is almost 25 and has been working at a make-up counter at a high-end department store.

I talked to him about a month ago and he said that business was bad since the economy was doing poorly.

He called a week or so ago to say that things were not going well where he was living and he was looking at new places. I changed the subject before he could ask me to co-sign a lease or help with a deposit because even if he had a financial past that would not make that terrifying, we really can't afford to do it.

He emailed me yesterday morning and asked for an early bus ticket back to the retreat center/sanctuary/"the land." I bought it for him. That amount of money I can take from savings.

It was a one-way ticket.

He told me just that things were complicated and he really wanted to go back. He doesn't like telling me the truth. If the truth is that he has lost his hours or job because of the economy and can't pay his rent, he would prefer not to tell me that. It doesn't matter. Buying him a ticket to the land is something I am willing to do.

I would love to see him be happy and self-supporting in the "regular" world, but at the sanctuary I know he is warm, dry, and well-fed.