I’d lived in downtown Manhattan for 35 years by the time I finally left. There was a brief period in the East Village, and a month of sleeping on a rollaway bed in the stockroom of the boutique where I worked. Mind you, the year before I’d been living in a shack in the Ozarks that had no running water or electricity, so a lamp to read by and a toilet were luxuries. From there, I had a tiny two room walkup that measured 14’x14’ with a shower and kitchen appliances in one room and a sleeping loft in the other. I lived there for several years and finally moved into the building next door when I married my soon to be ex-husband. Once he was gone, I stayed in my rent-stabilized apartment for 30 years until my landlord paid me to move out. When my landlord made me his offer, I called a friend who lived on Cape Cod and she told me her friend who had a store there needed a salesgirl. I was on the Bolt bus two days later and was hired the following morning. I also looked at an apartment I’d seen on Craig’s List on the way back to my friend’s house. It was in a basement but had decent furniture, a big TV with cable, and free WiFi. I shook hands with the landlady and called my New York landlord to tell him I would take the deal. He gave me six weeks to vacate my apartment. I sold almost all of my furniture and gave away a ton of books and clothes. And tore up 30 plus years of journals, which was liberating. By the time I left, the UHaul wasn’t even half full. My parrot, a Senegal named Pacino, sat up front with me in his travel cage for the ride. I arrived in Yarmouth Port on Halloween and lived and worked there for six months. In the meantime, I met up with some artists from the gallery in Provincetown and they offered me the job. That was 14 years ago this month. There’ve been a few snags, I’ve had five addresses and six jobs since leaving New York, but doors kept opening. Now, as I contemplate how to move to the UK to be with my beau, I once again am faced with an apartment full of furniture. There will be no UHaul this time but I don’t need to deal with that today. I have a place to live both here and there, I’ll just have to wait for the next door to open. And while I wait, I’ll enjoy this little beach town before the tourists take over this summer. So yes, Onward.