Lots of people have bought this book. I’ve only sold about a thousand copies, but the book has been downloaded and shared with upwards of 30,000 people! Certainly, there was and always will be a market for a book like this, whether the publishers choose to see it or not. I’m simply thankful I live in a time when I could self publish and share my work on the internet. There have been times when I’ve felt bitter about all those free copies that were distributed in direct violation of the copyright, but ultimately — it’s pretty cool, even if I didn’t profit from it. Consider it payment for any films, TV shows, or music I’ve used or enjoyed without buying.
I’m going to leave this version, essentially unchanged. I am going through and finally spell checking, fixing some grammatical errors, and hopefully fixing any and all of the formatting issues the book has suffered from in the past. Later this year, I am (hopefully) going to publish an updated Masters Edition of Rough Living with new material, photos and more. I am also in the process of putting the final edits on Smooth Living: Beyond the Life of a Vagabond.I hope you will enjoy all three of them!
Authors Note for 2013 Master Edition
The “What’s Your Provocation?” section comes from the brilliant work of Mr. Bill Larson of Bellingham, Washington. I attended a lecture of his in 1999 and was profoundly affected by his concepts of provocation and the 3 A’s. Thank you for allowing me to share your work, Bill. It changed my life. Thank you for being an awesome human being.
Over the past decade, the thing that has been best about this book has been and continues to be hearing from readers. From the waitress who wrote to tell me she kept a copy at work to the young and old guys who have written and told me how it changed their lives. I’ve received hundreds of letters and emails from people who told me that Rough Living was what they needed to read, that my words were what they needed to hear. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Those of you who wrote, your words have often been what I needed to hear and you’ve carried me through some dark nights of the soul with them!
I’m adding in a couple of things that weren’t in the original Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagabond to this version. All the urban survival tips from the 2005 Rough Living: An Urban Survival Manual are included in this edition and I’ve also inserted the complete booklet I wrote about how to freelance and find your passion income. It makes sense to include it in Rough Living rather than having it on its own. I’ve added in some stories from my original manuscript of 20 Weeks a Bum which fit with the overall time period and theme of this book.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out once again that I dedicated the original of this book (my first book and one I’m still incredibly proud of) to my father who apparently thought I was writing something very different when he promised to purchase a hundred copies and send them out to influential friends. When he read it, he told me I should be ashamed of myself, that I’d ruined the family name, and we stopped speaking. We attempted to patch things up in 2009 but the same thorns came out again. Ten years later, we still have no relationship.
I refuse to be ashamed of what I’ve done. This is my life. I’ve made mistakes, as we all have. I, however, chose to write about my errors instead of keeping them hidden like skeletons under a closet or dust in a rug. I’ve always felt it better to just say what I’ve done, think, or want in life and that has often put me at odds with people, not just my father, but many others too.
I’ve grown, I’ve changed, and I’ll continue to do so. A few examples are theft and ‘working the system’. I’ve no interest in either technique these days, but it took me a long time to learn that ‘negative’ ways have ‘negative’ effects on your consciousness. It is my hope that my errors can save you some trial and error. I wish I’d learned some of this stuff without bumping my head and limiting my future.
I also want to mention the recipes. I’ve included them in the index because I still like them, but over the last decade, I’ve found it funny how many people complained about them on Amazon or other review boards. I’m a pretty decent cook. I’ve actually run some kitchens and I can cook meals that come out delicious 90% of the time from scratch and what is on hand. The point of the recipes is to show you that a few basic ingredients and utensils can give you enough to eat something that would make the judges on Top Chef say “That tastes pretty good.” I’m not trying to make a recipe book, but I think these ones are pretty tasty.
As I put this together, I’m in Morocco where I’ve been living off and on for the past four years. I came here after getting a degree from the University of Hawaii. I’ve married a Moroccan girl I met, we have a little girl who is going to be two years old this year, and we’ve lived together in Morocco and Turkey these past four years.
During that time, I’ve not been back to the USA. We are waiting on her immigrant visa to be approved in just a few weeks. By the time this is published, I expect we will be living in the USA. I have no idea how we will do it. I still don’t have a job.
I’ve written about the past four years in Smooth Living: Beyond the Life of a Vagabond. I may have to write a whole new book about finding a way to live on our own terms in the USA. Tentatively calling it Rough Living: Family Style which probably means that I’m afraid our life of Smooth Living might be coming to a close. We’ll see.
I wrote the original draft of this book back in 2001- since that time I’ve been to more than 40 countries, sailed a yacht through the Aegean, flown in a hot air balloon over Turkey, and rode camels through the Sahara. If my life is the pudding, the proof of these methods is there. I hope you find what you are looking for. I hope you enjoy these tips and tales of a simple vagabond.
The past ten years of my life have been better than most people’s vacations — a huge part of the reason for that is because I chose to embrace rough living to grab my freedom. This stuff works — of course, there’s an advanced course too. I’m working on that. Stay tuned at http://www.vagodamitio.com/
REVISED, EDITED, EXPANDED, AND PUBLISHED IN SEFROU, MOROCCO ON A CRAPPY ACER NOTEBOOK ON THIS 10TH DAY OF MARCH, 2013.
MEET THE GRASSHOPPER
What is rough living? Rough living is making do without. Without whatever you might need or want at any given moment. Without food, without money, without shelter, without whatever it is you think you want or need — immediately at hand. Rough living is spending your last dollar without knowing where the next one will come from. Rough living is about finding the rewards from making it any way you can.
The following is some of what I’ve learned and seen in my career as a vagabond. The book is broken up into two sections. The first section is made up of tips for living the rough life. In the second section are some of the tales of my adventures in 2000 and 2001. I hope the advice is useful and the stories are both inspiring and enjoyable to travelers and armchair adventurers alike.
This book is not intended for the homeless. It is not directed at street people. It is not a how to manual for people who want to live in public restrooms and beg for change. This is a book for people who don’t fit into the accepted paradigms. Let me illustrate with a well known fable.
Once upon a time there was an ant and a grasshopper. They both lived in a wonderful place filled with enjoyable activities and fulfilling opportunities. The grasshopper loved to play his fiddle, eat fresh fruit right off the vine, and dance in the moonlight. The ant, however, warned the grasshopper that winter would soon come and that he should follow the example of the ant by preparing for it. Meaning, the grasshopper should forego the simple pleasures in life so that he could prepare for winter. The ant did this. Each day he woke up early, said goodbye to his family, and went to work. He stored up resources for them, so they could live through the winter. In the evening, he came home and went to sleep early so he could wake up in the morning and do it again. The grasshopper couldn’t understand why the ant would do it.