The Tin Shack

By B.K. Austin

I hope my readers will enjoy this account of the twists and turns in a small part of my life in the pits. It was written for others like me who have floundered and spun around in periods of their lives; having no clue as to what is up and what is down. So if you are having a bad day, weeks month or year, I think you will smile and chuckle a bit as I try to land on my feet in a world sometimes absurd, unreal and confusing; but not without an undercurrent of amusement and wonder. Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462043101

B.K. Austin

B.K. Austin was born in NW Indiana where she managed to escape to Florida after college and fell in live with the sun, the humidity and the occasional hurricane. She now again resides in NW Indiana in complete denial, freezing and with no winter clothes!

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Contents

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

MY LIFE IN THE PITS

The Tin Shack

SELF IMAGE

WORK

GOING TO THE HOSPITAL

Hospital Terminology

DIETS

FUN AND GAMES

GARDENING FOR PLEASURE AND CHRONIC BACK PAIN

HANDY TIPS ON HANDLING A SUCKY LIFE

AUTO WOES

GETTING OLDER

A WOMAN’S BEST FRIEND

THE FUTURE

DEDICATION

Dedicated to my sister who understands.

PREFACE

Hello! And thanks for picking up this book! Thanks even more if you buy and actually read it!

I can’t promise you a thought—provoking, meaningful, or insightful journey, mainly because my life had none of those things. I know I will never win the Nobel Prize, an Oscar, an Emmy, an Olympic gold medal and I don’t foresee a Pulitzer anytime soon; but hey! I wrote a book! And that counts for something.

This is basically a series of short vignettes on my life. It’s a tour like most people do at some time in their lives. It hasn’t always been a fun journey and it has had its ups and downs, but it did have its moments. And I can promise you that even at its most mundane, you will smile and maybe even laugh. While there are parts when you stop and say, Hey! That sounds just like me! Welcome to the human club. It is not exclusive and the membership requirements are really easy to fulfill. You just have to be one. That’s it! Everyone is automatically a member. It’s free. No hidden fees and no long term contracts. It’s perfect!

So travel with me now and I can assure you a great ride. Like a roller coaster, it will be exciting and a little crazy at times, but fun none the less. I might even have some thoughtful insights. (Maybe) Just don’t hold your breath. I will try to throw a few tips along the way to help you over life’s speed bumps, but don’t put money on it. I’ve tripped over those bumps plenty in my life. You need to take the advice and step carefully anyway. I figure that I have fallen on my face so many times that I count myself an expert. I will be giving you the benefit of my extensive experience so you can hopefully skip most of the dreaded speed bumps, the walls, the wrong turns and the complete and utter mistakes I have managed to accomplish with dazzling efficiency. I don’t believe in doing things half way. If I am going to screw-up, I am going to do it masterly!

We’ve had enough with introductions. Welcome to my home and life. I hope you enjoy and have some laughs along the way.

INTRODUCTION

I saw things when I was young and because that things that came to me in the night scared my sister so much she slept face down in her pillow with the covers over her head for protection and didn’t let her head out of the covers until she was past twenty. Grandmother was a medium/psyche, mom and my sister were psychic Empaths and I unfortunately was a medium myself. Other than that we were the perfectly normal family.

Growing up in the fifties we collected pop bottles and turned them in for cash and