Posted on 09/01/2009 7:42:18 AM PDT by Wardenclyffe
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The beat-up 1989 Dodge van carries a sign with a question: "How has the recession affected you?" Along the side, a request: "Tell me your story."
The man behind the wheel is Aaron Heideman, 29, an artist from Grants Pass, Ore., who in the past year began sleeping in the van on a mattress he bought for a six-pack of beer and lost his job at a paint store. He hit the road July 1 with what he calls "The Man in a Van Project," angling for a $250,000 prize at an art fair.
His media, as he describes it: a 50-yard roll of Tyvek, a Dodge van, and a homeless man (himself). His final destination is Grand Rapids, Mich., home of ArtPrize, where he plans to display his project in September and October.
To save cash, Heideman eats a lot of refried beans, cold and straight from the can. He buys them with jalapenos because the beans taste hot that way.
But he's got about $500 in donations, made through his Web site, and thinks that should be enough to get him to Pittsburgh, where he plans to be on Monday and Tuesday, Indiana, Chicago and Michigan, where he plans to make several stops before ending in Grand Rapids by Sept. 15.
There, he plans to wrap his Tyvek banner around the Grand Rapids Community Foundation building and ask people to lay flowers next to it as a "memorial to the recession."
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...

With the 0bama Recession getting worse, we might all be joining Matt Foley "down by the river."

Beats working for a living. I guess.
Well, he might win that art prize — if the stories blame Bush.
That sentence should be taken out and shot.
LOL...I saw this guy the other day on my way home from work!!
It almost reads like a line lifted from “Howl” by Allen Ginsburg. And that’s not praise.
Something tells me beer plays a major role in his “story.”
I wonder if he is collecting unemployment checks?
It’s generally good advice to avoid bearded men in vans.
Wow! I wonder if he washes them down with a cold Bud? That could make for one dangerous enviroment!
ROTFLMAO That is hysterical.
I would be afraid that after taking his candy, it would be the last thing I would remember before someone finds me wandering the highway in my underwear with sans one kidney (if I am lucky) three days later.
To Aaron- It's Government Cheese, you moron! UR DOIN' IT WRONG!
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