What makes an able-bodied man go homeless.
He’s willing to work, has an entrepreneurial spirit.
Don’t get it.
There are fast-food joints in Alberta that pay starting wages of $14+ per hour for people right off the street -- and they still can't stay open all the time because they can't get enough help.
Maybe he’s over 50 when it’s tougher to get hired full time.
I have a friend who is homeless. He’s a machiniest who lost his job. (near Detroit, what a surprise!)
He rides his bike wherever he goes, stays clean, is sober and lives in a little plywood “cabin.” I don’t know him real well, but he doesn’t seem to have any of the pathologies that most bums have.
He seems pretty smart, spend a lot of time listening to conservative talk radio. I’ve never been able to find out how he supports himself for food etc. or how he takes showers and cleans his clothes. however, every time I’ve seen him, he’s clean and well dressed.
I have to give him plenty of credit. he’s living the dream. Off the grid, few bills etc.
You have to give Litter Man a lot of credit too. He’s doing somethng with all his spare time and making a little money in the process.
> He must have some mental issues.
Maybe not...
> What makes an able-bodied man go homeless.
I’ve met plenty of homeless folk who actually enjoy the lifestyle. As one explained to me:
“I have more freedom and liberty than you do. I have no debts, I have no mortgage, no family to feed, no lawns to mow, no boss, no income tax to pay because I don’t have any income! I don’t give a stuff what Helen Clark and her government think, say, or do. I never get stuck in rush-hour traffic. If it is a fine day out, I can enjoy the sunshine as much as I like, anywhere I like. If it is raining outside, I got several nice comfortable places set up all around the city...”
(Our Patrol had encountered this man — “Jim” — living under a bridge. He had knocked together a lean-to out of old Real Estate signs and Election hoardings, and had McGyvered a broken office chair and mattress together to sleep on. The far end of his lean-to was open, giving him a pleasant view across the river to where the ducks usually congregate. (his pets, perhaps? Or maybe the occasional lunch? Dunno).
“...If I’m hungry I can find something to eat 24x7 and it won’t cost me a cent! Can *you* do that???”
I had to admit, I couldn’t: every word of what he’d said was true. It was just from an unusual perspective. There was nothing mentally disturbed about this man. And he looked very able-bodied and “fit” in an extra lean sinew sort-of-way.