Maybe he's onto something. . .

Interesting read. But it never mentioned how he acquired the '...big buckets full of beans and rice..' I understand he lives off the land and what he finds in the garbage around Moab, but where/how did he come by the big buckets of beans and rice?

And sleeping next to a next of scorpions; I do not want.
 
Good article. I think I would make my own situation better and perhaps over time build a cabin of some sort. It sounds like he lacks cleanliness....something that could be remidied if he wanted.
 
Neat.

I'm sure my kids are glad I didn't hear of this guy years ago. :)

Gonna pass the site on...there's a message there, even if not taken to this man's extremes.
 
Allthough I agree with him that we all depend too much on money and it is an extreme, but living like that is also an extreme. I think I need to find a middle somewhere.

Till then I am just another rat in the race of life. I dream of getting away from the stress of paying a high mortgage, ridiculous taxes, car payments, water and sewage bills, etc. I struggled my whole life and just when I thought I was doing better financially, it seams these past few months have been the hardest; with no sign of it letting up.

I envy this man for not having the stress that many of us have, but he also doesn't have a family to love and support either. More than that he doesn't have anyone to give him love. That I do not envy, and allthough from reading the story; it sounds like he is happy. I just don't believe I could be happy in that setting, totally alone....
 
I envy how he has no stress concerning money. Who here can say that ??

Certainly not myself.

Ive often thought i would be happy living in the woods,surviving on nature.
 
I have seen Tony's wife - I think he is doing just fine... ;)


Seriously, just because you crave to live off the grid does not mean you have to live like a complete bum. I think you could barter and have a FEW of the finer things... like nice knives!


TF
 
Kismet said:
Gonna pass the site on...there's a message there, even if not taken to this man's extremes.
Click to expand...

Yep, I think we're all in agreement here. Honestly though, I hope this isn't just a "preaching to the choir" as we're all sort of in the same wavelength here.

The article sort of resonated with me since about the same time, I left the corporate, salaried, white-collar rat race scene and tried to struck out on my own pursuits (Freelance teaching, writing and consulting. I admit not very successful though :o) as well as having studied "Eastern" philosophies and views since a young age made me appreciate where he's coming from. Really, how are signature or luxury items actually going to contribute to your daily existence other than impressing others?

It really is more poignant now when everything appears (all in a matter of perspective, right?) so difficult leading us to a back-to-basics approach in life.
 
Big deal

I'm not impressed

He lives with "kissing bugs", scorpions and mice

The city bum lives with roaches and rats.

He scavenges cans of tuna, so does a city bum.

He gets a meal from "his friends in Moab" sometimes. The city bum gets his meal from the soup kitchen sometimes.

They both live off the refuse of society. They are both filthy and living in squalor. The mindset is the same, the only difference is the location.

Carl-
 
PrimitiveMan said:
Big deal

The mindset is the same, the only difference is the location.

Carl-
Click to expand...

I do see a difference and wouldn't say the mind set is exactly the same. This guy chooses to live that way and would probably reject a few grand if you tried to give it to him. All of the city bums I have met have given up for what ever reason(which this guy did), but would take a few thousand bucks from you in a minute.
 
Tony,

It is odd given the fact that he is educated and could get a job in a hot minute. I don't think, however, that you need to drop out of society and be a dumpster diver to reject the evils of capitalism.

Epicurus sure did not - and he lived a blessed life - while rejecting all of the capitalism Athens had to offer.

TF
 
Talfuchre said:
Tony,

It is odd given the fact that he is educated and could get a job in a hot minute. I don't think, however, that you need to drop out of society and be a dumpster diver to reject the evils of capitalism.

Epicurus sure did not - and he lived a blessed life - while rejecting all of the capitalism Athens had to offer.

TF
Click to expand...

Yup, who ever that Epi guy is:confused: I'll take your word for it:)

This dude is just plain nuts; but to each their own I guess....

I consider UDTJim as ruffing it. Way up there in North Dakota.....:D
 
he was a man of intellect, and he lived like a bum. just a bit of history is all :)
 
We keep our thermostat at 78 during the summer, so I can totally understand what it feels like to rough it. :D
 
I'm all for living simply and rejecting modern things, but this guy.....I'm not into this.

I want to thrive, not survive. I'd love to give it a go living without any money, but I'd grow crops, i'd build a house, i'd......well do a whole hell of a lot more. If I was going to attempt something like that, I wouldn't want to take handouts from friends.
 
Me too.:D Although today it hit 90 degrees, unbelievable. We had to turn the sprinkler on the reindeer to keep them from frying. The ice is even gone from the driveway.:eek:

In a way, I kind of did what that guy did to a much lesser degree. I was working for a contractor as a job foreman, one day, I decide that I had learned enough and since i owned all of my tools, I just pulled the plug and never punched a time clock again. That was about 45 years ago. I worked when the work was there and slacked off when thing slowed down. If I wanted to work 12 days straight then take ten days off, that's just what I would do. Most of the time, my wife worked with me. In the fall I did some hunting guide work and in the spring, I took fishermen up to Canada. For quite a few years, I got a FFL and sold guns and fishing tackle.

In those days, there was plenty of work as long as you didn't mind doing whatever came available.
 
OK, so he doesn't use actual money, big deal, he still shares all the benefits of technology and capitalism.

He uses the refuse of other capitalists, which would not exist otherwise.

He uses pots, pans, a stove and anything else he has a mind to. Just because they were "free" to him doesn't mean anything. They were bought at a WalMart somewhere in the beginning.

I also notice he wears eyeglasses. Just where did he get those and who provided the prescription?

He may not have anything in his wallet, but he is still living off capitalism and using technology.

He doesn't use HIS money, he uses OURS. The "FREE" computer at the library is paid for with our taxes. Friends feed him with food they bought with THEIR money, and regardless of whether he uses other peoples trash, those people bought those items with THEIR money, so regardless whether he takes shoes off the trash, or buys a pair, SOMEBODY paid money for them. You can live a solitary life with a minimal existence and virtually no money without being a dirtbag. After all, Proenneke did. It didn't take him any money, but it did take something this bum seems to lack, AMBITION AND HARD WORK.

He should take a bath and get a job or take a bath and live off nature.

He is a bum, not some spiritual monk living closer to the divine.
 
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