5:30 a.m. I woke up. I hear a large animal running around outside my camp. I’m guessing it’s a coyote, a big one, running through the thicket. I can hear it snapping twigs. I can hear it running really fast and stopping. The coyote knows I’m there. It can smell me, it definitely smells my urine. I spent my whole life with dogs. I wonder what the coyote is thinking? Is it testing me, playing with me to see if I come out of the tent and yell at it. It’s definitely close, I say approximately 20 ft from my camp running around then stopping then running around some more. I always grab my defensive devices when this happens. Just the sense of an intrusion or the possibility of something trying to get into my tent unsettles me. I’ve actually thought that it would be cool if at some point during the winter an injured or malnourished coyote comes to my camp for warmth or help. I would nurture the coyote and give it food and it could become my pet. Will this happen? Probably not. But it’s cool to think about it.
7:30 a.m. I have plans to spend the day with a lady friend. I pack up my stuff, and I leave the camp for the day. I took an alternate route last night to the camp. I track out to where my bike is locked to a tree, I take the bike to my car, and I jump in the car and I drive to my friend’s house. I use my friend’s laundry and shower. I have not washed my clothes or showered in 5 days. I changed it into some more civilized clothing. And I text the lady I plan on spending the day with. It’s a while before she gets back to me.
11:00 a.m. it’s become a phone tag situation with my lady friend and I. We had plans and now she’s busy. It’s really frustrating when I make plans and people give me the runaround. It really affects my day, and my work cuz there’s always something else I could be doing as far as working on the project or organizing things for the non-profit. I reached out to a good friend of mine to see what his day looks like. He says he’s going to work out but then around two he’s coming home and he invites me over for some food.
2:00 p.m. I was working on my truck cover. I was putting it back on the truck. Before this project I was driving down the highway and there was an Acura riding my ass. I was in the fast lane and I kept going faster and faster. I don’t know how the wind caught it, but the wind flipped the truck cover right off the back of the truck. It flew in the air like a sail. Luckily the Acura was able to move into the other lane before the truck cover smashed the front of the car and could have possibly killed the driver. The Acura ended up speeding past me beeping their horn. I’m glad they didn’t die, but I laughed because they were f****** dicks for riding my ass trying to push my vehicle over 80 miles an hour. I had to go to the highway later that night and my brave friend Pat ran across the highway and grabbed the truck cover for me. I knew that I never wanted that truck cover to fly off in the future.I used some of my construction tools, and some old metal air conditioner brackets, along with some screws, to screw the back of the truck cover down into the bed of the truck. That way it’s secured and it won’t fly off again.
After I finish this project my buddy had texted me and told me to come by.
2:30 p.m. I arrive at my buddy Pat’s house, He lets me make a big plate of food, and I get to have some eggnog which is like liquid crack. Pat is also the clerk of the non-profit We started about 3 years ago called Tiffany’s Recovery Incorporated, named after my sister who died of a drug overdose when she was 18. We’re able to wrap up some financial paperwork with our signatures online. It’s always good to spend time with Pat We play handball together every Saturday, and he has been a powerful ally in foundation in my life out here in this cold f***** up world.
4:00 p.m. I leave Patrick’s house, he has to go to work. I had been texting with my lady friend who says that they have been stuck at their parents all day. I have no definitive plans for the day cuz I’ve been waiting to meet with her all day. I contact one of my good old friends and see what they’re doing. My friend is at his house with his kids and his wife just hanging out, and I asked if I can come by. He says yes and we make plans to go to his mother’s house and go through his father’s clothes for donation to homeless people. My friend’s father was a good man, and a great role model for me. I’ve known his father most of my life and he recently passed away. This was a very sad moment, and I am grateful that my friend and his mother would like to donate some of his belongings to people who need it and are cold in the street.
4:45 p.m. I arrived at my friend’s house. We hang out for a a few minutes, and then we head over to his mother’s house. We feel free trash bags full of clothes that belong to his father. We hung out for a little while with his mother and the dog who’s a fat little small dog.
5:30 p.m. My friend wanted to go out to eat, and he said he’d pay for me his treat. We went to a nice restaurant in Beverly called Rev. I’m actually dressed decently because I had expected to be hanging out with a lady friend. I feel guilty and I don’t want to see people I know because they’ll probably blast me for looking lavish and being in a nice establishment when I’m supposed to be homeless. I may be living homeless for a year but I still have friends, and I still have human proclivities that I tried to fulfill for my own mental health and wellness. My friend and I sit at the bar at Rev, we got an appetizer of artichoke dip with chips, I get a burger and he gets a haddock sandwich. We both got salads for our meals. The food is delicious but after spending so much time in the street I always feel guilty enjoying such luxury.
7:30 p.m. We left the restaurant, I actually did see a person I recognized, but they did not see me. We headed back over to my friend’s house and I’ve been in contact with the lady friend that I had plans with, she is now decided to decorate the Christmas tree at her mother’s house. At this point I’m frustrated. I was excited to spend time with this woman, and now she’s giving me the runaround. My buddy put on a Netflix documentary about John McAfee the antivirus guy, who I learned was some kind of crazy jet setting psychopath who is convicted of murder and Belize. The documentary is fast paced and it’s really interesting. I will admit I hope to never live a life like John McAfee.
9:30 p.m. The lady friend that I had plans with finally texted that it’s too late and she’s going to go to bed. So that plan was a wash. My buddy is falling asleep on his couch and is snoring away. I say goodbye to his kids and his wife. I’m not prepared to head back out into the woods and sleep in my camp, I have handball tomorrow. I stopped by another friend’s house who lets me stay the night. It’s been a long day, I really do not like when plans get destroyed. But I will admit I was able to accomplish a lot of other important things, so maybe it was for the better. I learned a long time ago that having a plan is good. But truly smart people have backup plans for their backup plans. Tomorrow is another day.