More memories from the past….

I know I wrote earlier that I was tired and that there would not be much blogging today. As I was standing outside on my porch, I was reminiscing about my days and nights in the woods homeless and it spurred me to finish smoking my pipe and to come in and write about it.

I have been in a nostalgic mood lately. I was thinking this evening about my day’s being homeless and some of those lonely nights. I sometimes even think back about them with fondness. Things were so harsh but so simple then. I had very few responsibilities other than getting myself something to eat, avoiding extreme weather, and to do what I could to stave off hypothermia.

There were many nights I sat around the camp fire, listening to my little battery operated radio, and drinking beer. I would fight off the chill by layering my clothes and keeping a roaring fire going. The canopy of the pines above me would be lit up with the flickering glow of that fire. The fire was my safe zone; almost as if an imaginary boundary surrounded it keeping me safe from the scary unknown that lurked out in the dark beyond its comforting glow.

One of my greatest joys was viewing a clear, moonless night sky out in the country. The sky would be filled with millions of twinkling stars. I would ponder about those stars and if there were other similar beings to me making revolutions around these stars on distant planets. I would think, “Are they like us? Do they have emotions? Do they band together into cities, counties, and countries?” I would think long and hard about such questions. It made me feel less alone to believe that there were billions of beings and civilizations going about their lives above me in that deep dark void of space.

Before bed, I would drag my down sleeping bag out of my tent and unfold it. I would hold it close to the fire to warm it up and then zip it up quickly. I would then hurriedly place it in my tent and get in. I learned pretty quickly to sleep with my clothes on. I would put my shoes inside the foot of my sleeping bag to keep them warm. Nothing was more uncomfortable than putting on cold, damp shoes, socks, or blue jeans on a very cold morning.

Well, enough reminiscing tonight. I think I will go fix a pot of hot tea, smoke some more from my pipe and then sit down and write a letter to a loved one.