every wish you were a wolf? or a wild deer? how about an elk or a bear? or how about just yourself, living in the wilderness and the quiet solitude that comes with it. ever consider selling it off and packing it up and moving to some remote area of the country or a very small town somewhere? noone could really blame you in this crazy world we live in today. after awhile most probably would envy you. or better yet they may even forget you. when life gets to be too much or you feel like you're swimming against a riptide and not keeping your head above water, that's when you might envy the wild animals. that's when you are tempted to ask yourself the question, "is life worth the struggle only to acquire things that will not mean anything in the end?"
i've never written about and rarely spoken of a group of unique homeless people. i don't talk about them much because i'm not sure what my opinion is of them. they are the homeless who choose to be homeless and by most standards do quite well for themselves. they are the homeless who chose to drop out of what we call society and the proper way to live and chose a lifestyle of their own, one of which few of us understand. some live in campers, rolling along the highways of america, camping in different areas whenever and wherever they choose. some sleep wild utilizing only backpacks and other camping items. others choose to live in tents in a fixed area for varying amounts of time. still others will construct a shelter for themselves out of whatever they can find, whether it be plywood, tarp, 2x4's or a combination of these and more. they live their own life. they rarely, if ever, seek the approval of other people. the do their best to live up to their own standards and try to earn only their own self-approval. they make decisions on what they think is best and then they stand by those decisions. they don't worry about the unreasonable, the hyper-critical, the hypersensitive, hysterical or immature actions of society as we do so often.they aren't concerned about today's tweets, who liked or unliked them, or how many followers they have. on the contrary they seem to truly hope they have no followers. they don't attempt to explain their actions to anyone and consider it a waste of time in even attempting to formulate an explanation. they consider the rest of us irrelevant. they just live their ilves the best they see fit in the manner they see fit. they don't define the word "live" they way most of do today. they have learned what many of us never do and that is to be comfortable with themself. their secret, as best as i can figure it out, is the fact that they learned how to live their own lives and let others live theirs without putting much thought into how the others are living theirs.
you seldom hear about this category of homeless people unless something goes horribly wrong and one kills or injures someone and then the words hermit, homeless, loner or other descriptions permeate the headlines associated with the story. you don't hear about these homeless people unless someone accidentally becomes associated or familiar with one and writes a story or article that is so misrepresented and distorted that it goes to the opposite extreme and glorifies that lifestyle. they are generally a quiet group and you will seldom hear about them. but they're out there. they're self sufficient, many don't and won't take any sort of welfare, government assistance or other financial hand outs from washington. they are fiercly independent and private. they want to keep their lifestyle and the contentment that goes with it a well kept secret. contrary to popular misconceptions, they seldom steal, don't commit other crimes and are absolutely no danger to anyone. they only want to live their life....as they choose to live it.
i've run across one or two of these homeless people here and there. i've become acquainted with one or two of them....as much as they would let me. gaining even enough trust to have a conversation took time and patience and had to be devoid of any pretense or false motives. they are indeed a unique group of the homeless and one i hope we never are able to house, domesticate or reintegrate. all in all.....i almost envy them. i'm not sure i would be brave enough or capable enough to do what they have done. they have achieved the freedom that many of us work a lifetime for. and the good part is they did it with enough time to enjoy the life they chose for themselves.
see you around town