Posts Tagged ‘homeless’
Diogenes of Sinope: the first freegan
Diogenes in his barrel, where he slept and lived
The mascot of Home-free Living is Diogenes of Synope, a Greek philosopher and “Cynic” (he is actually the originator of the word cynic, more on that later) and a perpetual vagabond and wanderer.
Diogenes may have been the world’s first official freegan-–he was the first espouser of freegan philosophy, at least. He is reputed to have slept in a barrel and eaten for free off of others’ plates. Diogenes was famously skeptical of capitalists, finding it incredulous
“…that misers blamed money but were preposterously fond of it.” [...] He often condemned those who praise the just for being superior to money, but who at the same time are eager themselves for great riches. (227)
The Food Stamp Labyrinth
I would like to relate my experience of going on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP. This is a federal program that is still colloquially referred to as “food stamps,” though technically this is incorrect. While the ability to buy food used to be administered via stamps that could be exchanged for food, they migrated more recently to a credit card-like system: the bearer is given a card that has a balance on it. The money on the card can be swiped like a credit card at the supermarket, but it can only pay for food.
The Hardest Part
If there are other people out there reading this and considering their own transition to the home-free life–whether for personal, political, environmental or economic reasons–they might be inclined to ask, “what’s the hardest part?”
Well, I’ll be honest about what the hardest part for me is, mentally.
The hardest part is imagining sleeping without the usual degree of safety.
Good News in Santa Cruz
Great news regarding camping & parking in Santa Cruz–-apparently it’s easier than I thought.
I went down last weekend to visit and do some research on what being homeless there might be like. My first mission was to seek out parking and see if it was even possible to find permit-free overnight parking. On instinct, I immediately turned onto the industrial, north side of River Street as soon as I came off Highway One. Bingo! Almost all the streets were no parking 1AM-5AM, but I was able to find one or two small streets that allowed overnight parking without a permit.
Random coffee encounter
I was sitting next to a prim yet tired-looking middle-aged woman at a coffee shop in downtown Palo Alto a few days ago. She seemed the talkative, maternal type, based on what I saw of her interactions with the barista, so I avoided eye contact. But then I overheard her talking to another patron about the owner of the nearby lounge Da Hookah Spot, who had recently burned down his girlfriend’s house after murdering her. This was definitely one of those local news items that was pretty unusual for quiet little Palo Alto, home to billionaires like Steve Jobs, who do a pretty good job of keeping this town an unaffordable yuptopia.
“Oh, did you know that guy?” I inquired to her, figuring nothing too bad could happen.
It was a big mistake. She disrupted my reading periodically for about the next thirty minutes with little huffy, shocked statements that indicated an obsessive fixation with others’ lives. Oh, I would’ve been out of there so fast if I were his girlfriend! These women just don’t learn! That’s why I’m single!
I was getting pretty tired of these interruptions and was at the point where I was going to leave because I wasn’t getting any reading done and I was getting continually interrupted and now this lady was talking about the lord Jesus. Right as I had almost lost my composure a little morsel of information emanated from her mouth that indicated that she was homeless.
Travels
I have a variety of places in mind that I’d like to go and spend some time writing and relaxing (while homeless).
As for the towns and cities in which I’ll rest my head, the only real requirement is that I have somewhere to write. This means almost anywhere except a dark cave or excessively rainy place (e.g. Seattle). In cities I will probably write on my laptop, in cafés, meaning I’ll need about $3 a day for tea to give myself some legitimacy as a café patron. I’m hoping to busk in order to make this money. I may also do walk-ins offering my services as a dishwasher.
When I’m in remote areas, I’m going to be writing in analog–via pen and paper, that is.
Logistics
I have been plotting out the logistics of this experiment/adventure for a couple weeks now.
Originally I was hoping to be able to shed my car; however, on the advice of the Guide to Homelessness blog (see link to right), I decided otherwise. The author advocates having a car, even if it doesn’t run, as an escape from the weather and a place to store your things.
Manifesto
Home-Free Living:
A Manifesto in Favor of Homelessness as a Lifestyle Choice for the Privileged Class
by Kristen Cheep
