My mother died 9 January 1991 at the age of sixty. She slipped into a coma and never woke up. From the hospital my aunt and I went for coffee, then parted. I went to see Dippy and Dopey to tell them the news. They were very kind and supportive. Then I went to visit my brother and father. I returned to Dippy and Dopey (they didn't live far away, perhaps two miles, if that) then I went back to work downtown in ministry. I spent time in a coffee shop with some of the punks I had befriended. They were supportive and very gentle.
I was exhausted and slept a lot for the next few days. My brother said he had trouble contacting me for which reason I missed her cremation. Just as well. I did not want to risk any aggressive or violent behaviour from him (yes, he was really like that!)
Flippy, always a problem, left our community just when we were poised to expel him. Long story that I won't get into here. Dippy, who was in love with him, tried to give me her key to the house because she wasn't going to stay with us if Flippy couldn't. The stupidest thing I had ever done up till then was consenting to let Flippy move in with me. Persuading Dippy to stay was my second great stupidity.
I continued trying to reclaim my life back from Flippy. He did not believe in boundaries and did everything possible to try to absorb me and swallow me alive while living with me for those two years. I was traumatized and worked carefully at trying to regain my sense of independent functioning. I would daily take long walks along the exact routes in Vancouver that I used to go on alone for years before and very slowly, gradually came to feel like myself again.
Flippy did try to forcefully move back into the farmhouse. I called the police. He was gone for good. Dippy and Dopey were both very upset that I called the police on their darling little Flippy. Too bad, said I, and to this day I have no regret.
With money I had inherited from my mother I went to Europe in June of that year bringing with me yet another pathetic idiot, a failed English wannabe rock star. He was wanted for questioning regarding a murder in London so I persuaded him to come with we. He also had multiple addictions and successfully scammed several thousand dollars from me. We stayed together for just more than a week. In Edinburgh I called him on his extortion and he left and returned to Vancouver.
For the first time in many years I felt truly free. I got to know some of London and parts of England, met interesting people and happily wasted time. I had thoughts of settling in London and had brought with me the manuscript for my novel in search of a publisher. Almost I decided to settle there before common sense prevailed.
In Amsterdam, the night I arrived, I was robbed at knifepoint for around $350 Canadian. The following day I was being followed and stalked, likely by the robber's accomplices since he did not successfully get away with my passport. The next morning I got on the train to Belgium where I stayed in Brussels for a couple of days before I headed on to Germany where I visited Cologne, Hannover, and Berlin where I spent only half a day since I couldn't find accommodations there. I flew back to London for ten days, went to Wales where I stayed a couple of days in Cardiff, returned to London then flew back to Vancouver.
Dippy had made life impossible for Dopey, who moved into the farmhouse in Richmond for extended respite from her. Meanwhile Dippy had become lovers with a young male suffering from schizophrenia and multiple addictions, who also beat the crap out of her a couple of times. When I returned he was dispatched to a treatment facility and I moved into the hospitality house to keep Dippy in line.
In early October her creepy boyfriend was discharged, returned to the house and trashed the place. He was threatening us, police were called and he was taken away. Immediately Dopey and I rescued Dippy and her cat and taxied them with us to Richmond where we became an official intentional community, all under the same roof.
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