Flip your piece of paper over and write down a few things that you want. Leave plenty of room underneath so you can explore different ways to get them. Don’t limit yourself to the physical side of things. There are plenty of other things we all want.
We all want to be safe, we want to explore, and to experiment.
How can you do some of that with what you have?
(Once again, great thanks is owed to Bill Larson of Bellingham, Washington for originating and sharing these incredible ideas with me back in 1999. I’m not sure any of this would have happened without meeting Bill.)
HITTING THE ROAD
You’ve felt the call of the road at some point in your existence or you wouldn’t be reading this. It’s called me for as long as I can recall. The call of the road is irresistible and though I’ve tried to fight it, I’m eventually powerless to hold it at bay. I am seduced by the desire to see what lies beyond the bend or over the next ridge.
Rough living requires little, but a few things make your life a whole lot more enjoyable. The first thing you need to have is a will to live. The sheer desire to survive. The will to live comes in many forms. Curiosity has kept this cat alive through some desperate times. I want to know what is going to happen next and so I’m not willing to die. When the time comes, I’ll see what happens on the other side, but there isn’t any need to rush that particular journey. I have friends who have made it because they love their families. Others live to fulfill some religious devotion. The important thing is to refuse to die. Even when it seems like it would be the easiest course. Absolute refusal.
If you want to die, you won’t survive a week of rough living. There are far too many ways to end up dead. So, first of all, if you want to learn some of the lessons and experience some of the joys of rough living, you need to want to live. If you have that, the rest is a matter of personal preference. Totally up to the individual.
I’m almost never without a pocketknife, a source of fire, and my good shoes or boots. Add a blanket, a tarp, and a jacket, and I’ve got nearly everything I need to survive. One other key essential is proper ID. We live in a security conscious world and if you want to avoid hassles with the law you need a passport, driver’s license, and birth certificate to keep you form their grasp. These three pieces of ID are essential.
Not everyone that reads this book is going to live the way I do. Not everyone wants to. This is a very individual way of living. Here are three examples of very rough living:
Cat Lady- She wears taped together garbage bags for a dress. Obviously, she needs help. She has a couple of shopping carts strung together and loaded to overflow with stuff. I was curious and got closer despite the terrible stench that surrounded her. I was amazed to see that this madwoman was carting around ten cats in travel cages. Most of what she carried was cat food and cats. Obviously, she’s a nutter.
Bag Guy- There’s a crazy homeless guy in Waikiki that carries dozens of plastic shopping bags loaded with all of his possessions. Seriously, this guy has dozens of bags. Why are homeless people so obsessed with having stuff?
Surf Guy- I’m told that this guy used to be a world class surfer and had an accident that made him loopy. He seems to have a better idea of what is going on than the other two. He has a couple of pairs of board shorts, a duffel bag with some t shirts in it, a rice bowl, and a spoon. Simple and easy.
What do you need? Do you need cats? Do you need knickknacks? More importantly, since I’m assuming most of us aren’t crazy like the people above, what do you need to have with you?
As I said, it is a matter of personal preference. Here’s one of my lists:
The Knife: Everyone has his or her preferred blade. For me it is a medium sized Swiss army knife. Something which fits in my pocket but gives me a can opener, a couple of blades, a leather punch, tweezers, scissors, wine opener, and a screw driver. I have friends who prefer a good utility knife with a serrated edge, locking blade, and thumb lever. For anyone involved in commercial fishing this is the knife of choice. I’ve known a couple of guys who would be dead if they hadn’t of had a one handed opening serrated edge to cut themselves out of tangled lines when they were dragged under while fishing in Alaska and the Arctic.
Lighter and/or matches: There’s a few ways to light a fire. The easiest is to use matches or a lighter. You can also use your lighter to smoke cigarettes, smoke pot, cut rope, melt plastic, and much more. Fire is too precious not to have available.
Boots: I’ve probably put 10,000 miles on my boots. They’ve gone through three sets of soles, a dozen sets of laces, I’ve had them patched, replaced the insoles repeatedly, and will continue to do so. Once you find a good pair of boots…keep them forever. (Note: I let my boots go while living in Hawaii in 2008, but I wish I’d kept them!)
Jacket: Even if it’s not cold where you are a lightweight jacket is worth carrying. I use a simple waterproof shell with a hood. It blocks the wind and keeps me dry. I can wear layers underneath if it’s cold.
Blanket: A wool blanket will keep you warm even if it is wet. You can use it as a pillow, a poncho, roll it into a pack, and use it for a cushion, whatever. A good blanket has a thousand functions.
Tarp: A six-foot by six-foot tarp will keep you dry anywhere, it will keep your gear dry, it’s light, it folds up small, and if you combine it with the tarps of friends it can become part of a communal tarpatecture structure. More on tarpatecture later.
Possibles Bag: The possibles bag is a small bag you can carry on your belt, in your pack, or somewhere on your person. Basically it is a bag that has gear in it to help you in any situation possible. My possibles bag typically has an extra pair of eyeglasses, some fishhooks and line, a flint and steel striker, some basic first aid gear, and a pen and paper. Depending on where I am, the contents of my ‘possibles’ changes.
Buying. The easy way to get what you want is to buy it. Whether you are looking for food, shelter, love, or excitement; cash can get you most of what you need. I’m not knocking it, but buying is not my favorite way to get what I need and not just because I don’t have a big wad of jack.
Making. This is my favorite method of getting the essentials. It involves looking around at what you already have and figuring out a way to make it into what you need. A monk I met in Thailand had this down to an art. He said, "First I look at what I have, then I figure out why it is exactly what I need." I’m not so enlightened as he is but I am pretty good at what the Marines call "adapting and overcoming".
Asking. This method is scary in it’s effectiveness. You figure out exactly what it is you want, who has it or can provide it, and then you ask for it. There’s no guarantee it will work, but I’ve found it invaluable to get over my shyness or sense of the ridiculous and simply ask, "Can I have this coat?" or whatever…you won’t know until you try it. Remember that loser from college who used to ask every girl he met for a blowjob? I bet he eventually got one!
Taking. I’m not proud of it, but I’ve done some taking. I always tried to restrict my theft to what I truly needed or to things that didn’t hurt individuals with their loss. Sure, it’s justification, but it feels better to know the bank, the airlines, or the credit card company will reimburse someone. If you truly want to learn how to take things, I recommend Abbie Hoffman’s “Steal This Book.”