I wake up at my friend’s residence. I have to leave early around 7:30 a.m. because it’s handball Saturday in Lynn!
I play some amazing handball games with my friends in Lynn and I meet a new person named Nate, he learned how to play handball in prison like a lot of us, and he’s a really cool dude. I trade bikes with my friend Mark at the Handball Court too. The road bike, although fast, has been a bit uncomfortable. It hurts my lower back when I ride with all my gear. My bag weighs about 70 lbs. which pushes me to about 300 lbs. on that bike. The seat digs into my buttocks. One time I hit a bump and the seat was so thin that it jarred my anus. I really did not like the feeling. As winter encroaches and ice begins to collect on the ground and that road bike will become a death trap for me. Mark has a brand new Schwinn hybrid mountain bike street bike which would be better for traveling, and he is willing to trade with me because he is my beloved friend.
From handball I drive over to help my friend move a new bureau for his mother. It takes us only about 15 minutes and from there I head to my mother’s house where I spend time with her, the dog Charlie, and the cat Weezy. I hang around for a little bit, help my mom with some stuff, take Charlie for a walk, and I leave around 2:00 p.m.
I have pinpointed a place on the North shore that I plan on making a permanent camp, what I call a permacamp. I spent the rest of the afternoon hiking in the woods looking for a good site. A place where I could put a tent that will not be disturbed by other human beings during the winter. I checked two locations. In the second location I found a place where I want to set up a tent and get myself prepared to sleep outside in the below freezing temperatures, in case I’m not able to live comfortably within the shelter system and warming centers.
I found some active camps in these woods, and I found one that was shuttered up with a tarp. I ripped the tarp open and checked the tent to see if there was a body in there. It was empty.
It’s too late to drive out to Springfield, and I have a friend locally that is in need of my help. I stop at Brothers deli for dinner and have lamb shank with vegetables and rice, and I pick up a new vape at the smoke shop. When I get to my friend’s house he’s not there so I hang around thinking of a plan. I Look at maps of Springfield and Holyoke, looking up resources and planning my next trip of homelessness in Massachusetts. Around 9:00 p.m. I fell asleep at my friend’s place.
HINDSIGHT: 10/8/2025
Often times while I was scouting for camping sites, I’d explore, take mental notes of places I liked, and eventually settle on a spot for it’s seclusion, beauty, and flatness so I could sleep horizontal to the earth. When I found good spots I often noticed the leavings of others who had camped there before. It convinced me that there is an internal proclivity for humans to find camping spots that fit our universal needs. I learned that although we are domesticated, the traits our primitive ancestors developed to survive in nature still exist in us, only waiting to be awakened in the event we once again must survive in concordance with natural order.