HOME SWEET HOME ...or...NEVER TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER

So, here I was, basically living in a ghetto. The floor tilts irreverently to the left. Geckos feast on invading winged things. Mosquito punk help through the night. Perfect...no...acceptable...well maybe. I rarely talk to neighbors, but that too is fine. I am on Maui. The phone rang one evening and it was my landlord. She told me that she and her husband had decided to sell the place. Given I was the current tenant, they were giving me first option on buying. The price was thirty two thousand dollars. Fast calculation left me with only thirty two thousand to raise. Next day at my salon, one of my clients informed me of a loan that was available. It was a Farmers Home Loan. Farm? This a Tiny lot. "Oh no... that has nothing to do with it. You see, the government program is designed for rural, low income people to afford them home ownership". "Really"... my response. In fact there on High Street in Wailuku was an office of that administration in the Federal building. Next day, I took an early lunch and walked to the building and up a flight of stairs to indeed find at 203 an emblemed door with the Farmers Home Administration logo affixed to its door. I walked into that office and stood at the reception desk. Several folks locked in private conversation never even acknowledged my presence. "Excuse me!" The statement was met with a half-hearted glance, and complete disregard. Finally with annoyed expression, a woman removed herself from her gray chair and approached. "What ya want?" "Well....wanted an application for a farm loan". The woman turned her back to me and returned to her chair. With no eye contact her voice filled the small office with..."You don't qualify". "What....can I please have the application?" "I just told you that you don't qualify". She resumed the conversation . I am sure that many others had just walked away. I returned to my salon with a bit of New York attitude and found my way to phone  a Hawaii Senator's office in Honolulu, where I was politely told  that I would hear back. One week later I returned to that very office and was handed paperwork to sign for an approved loan. The only catch was I had to build a new house and the amount requested had been upped to reflect that cost. Additionally, the percentage rate on the loan would be one percent.