7:30 a.m. I woke up at my girlfriend’s apartment. Her and I hang out in the morning for a little while.
9:30 a.m. I drove to Walmart in Danvers and bought some big totes to throw in the back of my truck to keep some of my camping supplies and other junk that ends up getting stuffed in the backseat of my truck. I need to free up space in my truck in case I have to drive around doing homeless outreach for my job.
11:00 a.m. I drove to my mom’s house and I hung out with my mom, the dog Charlie, and the cat Weezy. I can’t stay long, because I have to bring a good friend of mine to an AA meeting. Drinking has been becoming more of a problem than a pleasure for this friend of mine.
12:15 p.m. I drove to my friend’s house, and I hung out there with his family for a little while. They always have food so I do some snacking.
12:40 p.m. My friend and I drove to the AA meeting in the next town. I see some people I recognize, I don’t go to meetings very often but there was a time where I did go more frequently. I say hi to people, and we listen as some people speak at the meeting. The first guy that spoke was talking about exorcisms and all kinds of weird stuff, they were actually people in the meeting that walked out. I was able to connect my friend to a few other people that go to AA regularly. I’m hoping that my friend is able to go to at least one meeting a week and avoid drinking because of the problems it causes in his life.
2:30 p.m. I drove my friend back to his house and just dropped him off. From there I go over to another one of my friends’ houses in Danvers and do some laundry. I also take some time and clean out my truck and my little car since so much junk is got stuffed in there over the winter. I organized my camping gear and other treasures into the totes that I bought at Walmart and I put that in the back of my truck underneath the truck cover.
5:30 p.m. I drove out to my camping spot. I parked my truck in my secret driveway. The rest of the night was spent in the tent. I’ve taken up smoking cigarettes again. I really love nicotine. I get addicted to it. Big surprise there. When I’m out in the woods I feel so free. Well, I’m actually not in the woods because I’m next to a highway, but nature reigns where I sleep. I hear beavers slapping the water, the geese honk all night, I’m right up against a huge swamp lake. There’s so much peace and connection to nature. I feel sad for myself and so many others that we become so adapted to this civilized fashion of life, to the point that we are dependent on the machine of industry. I have chosen homelessness for a year, it has not been damaging to me. For those that are forced into homelessness for various reasons, increasing stress and exacerbating other health issues, especially those that come with addiction, it is a cycle of struggle and degradation. This is the sad irony of our world. People have become so dependent on industry that those who are forced to live the way we did before industry, are ill-equipped and fall victim to extreme behavioral issues and health issues. Those who are successful, the homeless people I see that create high functioning and well managed camps, what I call sophisticated means of survival, seem to manage well and remain healthy.