7:40 a.m. wake up at Mike’s camp in the new tent. It was a rough night for sleep. I thought Cryin Mike was all alone, and My girlfriend and I were woken around 1am by a drunk person talking to themselves. This individual was having 1 person drunk conversation. I went outside the tent eventually to take a leak, and hoped it would let him know other people were around, and maybe be quiet. Instead he thought I was a raccoon, and started making growling noises, saying, “get out of here raccoon!” Eventually he did settle down, with a few outbursts through the rest of the early morning but not too bad.
8:00 a.m. I get out of bed and let my girlfriend do her thing in the tent, she is getting motivated to get ready for the day. I begin setting up a ratchet strap to two trees my tent sits between. After my tent got crushed last time by the snow, I have made it a rule to always have a steep A-frame to protect my tents from the snow.
10:00 a.m. The girl helped me get the A-frame setup. Mike and Steve woke up and came out of their tents. I introduced my girlfriend to Mike and Steve. My girlfriend went to cut some sticks to make little crystal wands. And she cut herself with the wood saw. Mike had some duct tape and they used a little bit of a baby wipe and duct tape to cover the wound. My girlfriend and I hung around talking to Mike and Steve for a little while. There was a bag of marijuana gummies that was left outside, and a raccoon or a rat ate them. Mike said, “that raccoon must have been high as hell.”
10:30 a.m. my girlfriend and I drive over to Walmart to get a few supplies like some string to tie down my tarp, I grabbed some sleeping mats for Steve and Mike so they’re not on the ground, I lost my wood saw so I buy another, and I get some caffeine which I use as a medication for my ADHD. My my girlfriend also gets a few things for her apartment.
11:30 a.m. I dropped my girlfriend back at her car. She bought a used car and she has to get it registered at the DMV. She also has to pick up her son. I walk back up to the camp and I finish tying off the A-frame above my tent. Mike and Steve are hanging by the fire pit starting a small fire and chatting. One of Steve’s friend stops by, a young lad who seems like a really nice fellow.
12:15 p.m. I walk over to the library and I start to work on uploading all the blogs. I asked the librarian if I could use one of the glass rooms so that I could voice to text this work. The librarian gave me the center room, all you have to do is give them your name and you get to use the room for 2 hours.
4:45 p.m. I walk over to Lifebridge for dinner. When I get my dinner one of the main staff members asked me, “are you Marshall.” I say yes. He tells me that he loves what I’m doing, even if I speak negatively about lifebridge. I explain that life bridge does provide really good services, although there could always be improvements. I explain that my biggest gripe is with how charitable funds are allocated on a state and private level. It feels really good that people are catching on to this project and understand what it means. I was actually thinking today, it’s a few days later as I write this, about calling the book, Homeless 366 Tents Across America.
5:45 p.m. I walk back over to Mike’s campsite where I set up my new tent. I do a little bit of work on the tent. My girlfriend texted me she wanted to stay with me in the tent tonight so she’s not by herself. She’s going to get some things together and meet me in the parking lot near the camping site.
7:20 p.m. My girlfriend texts me and I walk down the path and then her and I walk back up to the tent. I had asked her to grab some sweets and things from the grocery store since I didn’t have anything to eat. She forgot to do that. Temperature at night drops to about 35° and seems to hover between 35° and 40° throughout the night. There’s not a lot of insulation on this tent so you feel the cold. The girl is called all night, and she’s grouchy because she doesn’t have any sweets. I try my best to keep her warm through the night. I am big and heavy and I have adapted to the cold. I can understand how uncomfortable it could be for anybody else.