I must say I have really been enjoying my lunch hour wanderings through the heart of the small city I work in. Just a casual stroll along a shaded path each day. I don't really need to walk for exercise because the truth is I walk just as much while at work and at a faster pace but there is something kinda magical about strolling along and watching all the other people rushing around. In many ways it also satisfies my appetite for people watching.
There is also a surprising amount of wildlife visible if you know how to spot it. I stood around and watched a Kingfisher type bird diving into a school of minnows for a while today and watched a squirrel sneak into the community garden plots the city rents out and steal a half grown ear of corn. The little devil looked so comical carrying it back to his tree but the camera on my phone wasn't good enough to get a good picture.
I also started noticing these telltale paths going off the main concrete walkways and into the heavily overgrown areas.
Well you know me I had to check em out.
Turns out there are literally dozens of homeless folks living in boxes back in there. Some of them are actually quite well hidden. A few even went so far as to wrap their boxes in camouflage tarps for water proofing and others have begun keeping pets by feeding the local stray cat population.
The closest of these little hidden camps was less than 100 feet from the back of the dealership where I work. Hidden up the side of a hill in a steep area that never gets mowed and belongs to the State.
For the most part they were just hidden boxes for sleeping I guess that I could see. No makeshift amenities or attempts at any type of larger construction. My guess is anything larger would bring unwanted attention from someone who would do something about them.
There were obvious communal paths and then paths that went to individual camp areas. I stayed on the communal ones and according to Mrs. PP anyway with my beard and such I could pass as a homeless person anyway. I didn't really want to get too close but the whole idea intrigued me. Personally if I was homeless I would attempt to go much deeper into cover myself and set up a bit more of a luxurious camp.
It does make me wonder though how many other hidden camps I have walked right by and never noticed.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!
I have run up on similar areas around Roanoke when I used to go over there searching for glass insulators on abandoned pole lines. One guy had found an abandoned power station to live in and had a broom and kept the concrete pad swept cleaner than our porch ever gets at home. Anyway it was a strange thing to come up on in an over grown area.
ReplyDeleteOn another occasion I was down town by the tracks looking around when a fire broke out where some homeless guy had his stuff stashed in a hidden area of a parking garage. You and I look somewhat alike so you can imagine trying to explain to the police that I wasn't the homeless guy who started the fire. Luckily the firemen took my side and they let me go.
It is a thing here as well Preppy. We have a number of wooded or greenbelt areas around the city and the homeless come to and from them. I have never penetrated the brush (no burning interest in doing so) but know that they are there.
ReplyDeleteLots of em
ReplyDeleteEven among home less not everything is brother ship. What you have can be taken.
ReplyDeleteThe strong many times have the power over the best places and things. Also when authorities find a came and can do something they confiscate everything in a blink of an eye. Imagine having to carry on your person anything of value? Then too worrying about having it on your person too? Your cart or baby stroller or whatever you place our things in can be taken or lost to you at any time. Around here we see people just sleeping on the sidewalks or just anywhere any time we are out. They tried to do a federal count of the homeless but found few. Even when they were told where encampments were. You know if you see so many many many more are hidden from site. The state wants to tax us to build more and more shelters. That would be ok if the $ was actually used for that. And if the homeless wanted to be there and could stay until helped onto something else. Yet we know this does not usually happen. What is the answer. I wish I knew. So many have mental problems that they do not understand life as we know it..or want to be around others. Yet they all need shelter. Many many abandoned business and homes around here are taken over by homeless and have burned down. They don't always hide their camps. We can often see them in view off the freeways and roads. Week upon week.
One resident told authorities about a big group of them on his street that was having open fires each night. He was worried. Well the authorities did not look for the group but descended on His home and wrote him up for things that after a year of court dealings they found he was in the right to have and do! But our friends health was compromised over it all...as well as his faith in the system. The homeless are still there...the camp getting even bigger. Keep prepping ..we are in for a bumpy fall !!! Anna
Yes I have come across these before. They are intriguing in some way.
ReplyDelete