7:30 a.m. I wake up. It was a brutally cold night. I slept in the tent city next to Wendy’s with my new friends that I’ve met there. I didn’t see a lot of people out in the night because it was so cold. In the wee morning hours it was a lot of work breaking down my camp. I had to keep warming my hands up as I packed up each item like my sleeping bag, deflate my blow up mattress, break down my one person tent. It takes me about 40 minutes to get the whole job done. Once I have everything packed up I ride my bike over to the day shelter and wait for breakfast.
9:00 a.m. I eat breakfast at the shelter. And then I head over to the library to just charge my stuff and keep myself occupied for a while.
1:00 p.m. I begin to get antsy and want something to do. I decide to walk around Salem for a while. I walk down past Wendy’s and the firehouse. There’s a little art section and I go through there and look at all the different paintings, and take pictures of the art. I stopped by a bridge on the way and look to see what it would be like to sleep under there. I continue along the waterfront looking and thinking about places I could tuck myself in and sleep in the future if ever I was desperate. I walk over to the boat launching area and look around for possible places to sleep.
4:40 p.m. I start heading back towards the Life bridge Shelter for dinner. I arrive there around 5:00 p.m. I have dinner and then I head back to the library. I made plans with a girl that I’m dating. She texts me and lets me know that I should come by in a little bit. My car is parked next to the library so I just drive to her place.
6:00 p.m. I arrive at my friend’s house. I haven’t showered in a few days, and my clothes aren’t that clean. The first thing I do is strip down and get the dirty clothes off of me. My date gave me a bathrobe to wear, and now I’m pretty in pink. I had an amazing night with my friend. We shower together and we spend the night together and it is very therapeutic and soothing. Human relationships and romance are so important to the human psyche. To the point that people who go without it over time can get bitter, or go mad. I don’t think there is enough said about people who live in loveless marriages or relationships. Or those who crave human connection and romance yet are never able to achieve it. People always want to be prim and proper, and elevate themselves above the animal kingdom. In reality at our core we are animals, and the greatest joy and pleasure that we get comes from the oldest parts of our brain, the primal parts that make us just like the rest of our animal brethren. It’s a wonder to me why any human being would be ashamed of that. Maybe we should talk more about the stigma that comes from human sex and romantic relationships.
