Birth of a new mistake: Day one

Lone was the new member of this community. My friend happily and graciously took in an old classmate from an old time. We have not spoken in so long it came as a surprise when he reached out to me. In the middle of the night, he was happy to welcome me into his home. The agreement was to only stay until I could get back on my feet. But my feet were beaten and worn. The journey was long and perilous and I, weary traveler, had left defeated. Leaving the wilderness I called home I was injured and expelled. Although I was reluctant to rejoin the new world I did smile at the thought of a bed and regular showers,  at least until my legs heald enough to move on from here. But the world I once knew was foreign, confusing, and impatient. I didn't have much so I had to quickly find a job. After I had a couple of days to recover a nearby inn had a new tall, dark, and homely front desk worker. The owner must have been desperate for wanting to hire me on the spot. Sure I had a new haircut and clean clothes but he should have known I was the kind of man he did not want. 

I attempted to assimilate into the ways of my new society but in the short time I spent away I have changed so much. It wasn't solely my mind that protested but my body and soul as well. It was as if I was thrown in water. Accept now I was keenly aware of how polluted it was. I have seen pure and clean pastures. I now had something to compare my living to. It would not have been so bad if it weren't for the people. Those that looked at me like I was joking when I talked about life outside of their bubble. As if it was obvious that the only world they ever knew was the only acceptable means of living. every day I had to compromise my morals and silence my thoughts just to move along and get by. I would turn my head when the topic of homelessness came across. I would nod my head when people talked down what I proudly would have claimed as an accomplishment. It did not take long for me to decide that this town wasn't big enough for me and my aspirations. Without the concern for paying an exorbitant rent (again thanks to a dear old friend) I was able to amass the funds necessary for going back out into the adventure lifestyle. I was not yet well enough to rejoin the efforts for Mt. Katahdin but I was able to venture into the asphalt unknown. I sold a few items I had, collected a couple of paychecks, and readied my hundred and thirty hours power steed for the open road. 

It was hard to explain to my hospitable friend but I am grateful for his understanding. I know that what I was aiming to do was completely irrational and outside of his realm of perceived notions of asperations. But to him, it was simply something I wanted to do so he simply wished me luck and sent me off. As for my short-term employer, it was not so pleasant of a goodbye. Again, very desperate to keep a position filled. Although he knew he could force me to stay he still made it difficult on my heart to leave. Don't get me wrong, if the circumstances were different and the position came with good health insurance I would have been happy to continue working for him. I believe we became fast friends. But the reality was I had no place in this city of contempt and leisure. The work was easy and I was able to spend considerable downtime on other things like planning my escape. Ultimately he did express his misery in having me leave but he too wished me luck and even handed me a goodbye beer, something I did not know was called for but was glad to accept. I spent the final day cleaning up loose ends and preparing to embark on my endless journey. I let my bank know I was traveling non-stop, I talked to the post office, and I did insurmountable research on the possibilities of my demise on the road. I'm pretty sure I considered all possibilities. 

My first obstacle was privacy in my four-door sedan. Something in all of my hours upon hours of research I did not consider was people being able to see me sleep. This problem occurred to me in the dead of the night in the first parking lot that I came to spend the night. I did have the typical windshield cover I had used to keep the car cool in the sun but that only covered one of six windows. I also had a sleeping mat from my previous adventure to cover an additional window but that was all I had. Two out of six windows are covered. I was able to park in a spot that diminished the likelihood of someone casually walking by one side of my vehicle. That technically took care of another two windows, totaling four out of six. That was going to have to do for the night. I expressed my dilemma with others in my new lifestyle. I explained that I was reluctant to invest anything into my car because I was hoping to acquire a different dwelling as soon as possible and the lack of privacy was something I considered living with until then. But the necessity for privacy was well debated for some time. I considered it enough to wander the automotive section and price out the cost of window covers. I spent maybe an hour considering the different types and prices. Still not wanting to spend any amount of currency on improving my temporary home I decided that thirty dollars was not that much of an expense. The next night I was able to be completely concealed in my habitat. To be honest I really did make my metal quarters feel more like home. While I prepared my bed in the back seat I pushed forward the two front seats for the room. I had a place to raise my feet and watch some t.v. on my phone or tablet. Since the backrest to my new crib came down to access the trunk and the front console was within reach I had everything I needed from the comfort of my bed. I finished my show and told myself goodnight for I had a long drive in the morning. I would cross three states and come to a new city for my supplies.