a reply to:
Shoshanna
I remember my dad saying the same-ish.
And I think for the most part, they were right.
We have an excess of homeless in my area. Most are addicts and alcoholics. We have our full slate of crazies, too.
Me being me, and it is weird bc I hate people and groups of people, whenever I walk past them, I say hi. And talk with them. (They are less likely to
screw with me and mine.)
A lot have the same story. Life was a struggle, these substances helped them cope. Others didn't want to be on meds, thinking they are poison. Which I
can get behind, somewhat.
Then there is "Doug".
I stumbled, quite literally, into Doug. When I am not working, I love being in the woods. I was walking railroad tracks one day, when I heard a train
whistle. Since it can be considered trespassing to be by the tracks, I stepped into the woods and went to go up and over the little hill to not be
seen.
This hill is about 10' high. Got to the top, and the other side where of the hill where I went up, had a wood overhang. Odd. I walked down 5' to a
point I could get down the hill. Doug was sitting under the overhang. He silently stood up and grabbed a knife.
I held up my hands and explained that I was just getting off the tracks to not be seen by the train crew. I had seen him around. Usually 2 or 3 in the
morning at a gas station buying food and water, etc. I'd say hi, but he would walk the other way.
With knife still in hand, he offered me a seat. That knife was in his hand the whole time I was there. And for about the next 6 months of me visiting
every few weeks.
He is a millionaire. With credit cards that are always paid by auto pay. I found that out later. We talked until the train passed, and got up to
leave. I asked if he needed anything.
He asked for Taco Bell, as he won't go into town during the day. They are closed when he feels safe to go out. I took his order, and got it for him. I
dropped it off to him, and went on my way.
I didn't think of him again for a month. I was walking by Taco Bell (TB) and he came to mind. I remembered his order, and decided to pick it up and
drop it off.
When I was climbing up that hill, I loudly said it was me with TB. He met me with his knife. He smiled and said thank you. He asked me to hold on. He
grabbed the bag and went through the opening of the overhang into the hill. He came out a minute or two later with 20 in his hand and held it out to
me. I said not to worry about it.
That did not set well with him and he yelled at me to take it. I reached out and took it. I was visibly shaking bc he startled me by yelling. And to
this day, I swear that made him smile.
That was 5 years ago. I have gotten to know Doug, as much as he will let himself be known.
Doug is an electrical engineer, with a few patents under his belt...hence all his money.
He is very socially awkward, which I relate to. He was married at one point. She left him and took half his money.
When he went to work one day, he had been locked out and fired. His boss was who the ex left him for.
He packed up everything and left his state. Came to this one. As he was getting settled, he tried to get a patent on his current project. Too late,
his old boss took it.
He had been living in a hotel, looking for a house. He walked down the tracks, trying to make sense of his life when he found that hill and saw a
rabbit go into its hole in the hill.
And you guessed it, it gave him an idea.
He now has 3 rooms built below that hill. A bedroom, a kitchen and an office. For a bathroom, about 50' feet from his cave is another entrance. It is
an outhouse, basically.
He isn't an addict or alcoholic. And while adding his hermit lifestyle, living situation, social anxiety, and his very large hatred for the tech
industry up, one might say he is mentally ill, I would beg to differ.
This man's mind is definitely built different than ours, he is no more mentally ill than any average person.
If I hadn't stumbled into him that day, I too, would have considered him for the nut house.
He has helped me see that where we draw the line of sane/insane just might be wrong.
He also has explained to me that our physics is off. I still get bits of his theories when he feels like explaining. When Terrance Howard made a
splash a few weeks ago, I listened to that JRE episode in utter awe...many of the things said on that show, are things that he talks about and
believes.
As with most people I know in their late 60s, he is tired of the cold. He is talking about going to NC, and finding a new place to build his home.
This bums me out. I offered to drive him down, but he won't accept...he wants to walk until he finds where he feels safe.
He is obviously the guy who doesn't have anything like a cell phone, doesn't want to be tracked. I asked how we can keep in touch. He looked me in the
eye and said we won't. But in the next life he believes we will be best friends.
I believe that if the nut houses were still open like they were in the 80s, that Doug would have been locked in one for life.
While I think we do need to house the criminally insane and those who are a threat to those around them, I am glad Reagan closed them.
If he hadn't, I never would have met my friend Doug.