Vagabonds and Vagrants

For some people the word security may conjure images of a large house, a yappy dog, well fed children, and a gassed up car in the garage. Or maybe security makes you think of the secret service. Either way, I definitely don't have either kind of security, but both sound pleasant. During the past five years I haven't been able to call any one place home for more than eight or nine months. So far these assorted dwelling places have consisted in no certain order of a school, a dorm room, a very moldy townhouse, a room in a stranger's house, the attic of a costume shop, my car for a few stints, another townhouse which smelled strongly of meth, and a few apartments, one of which sat directly above a ritzy bong shop.

Some of these places have been more secure than others, and at times I've had to be ready to move out at a moment's notice. I'm not endeavoring to say that I don't need some degree of security, because I do. It's been an evolving system, but security for some of us just can't be having somewhere stable to keep all your crap. Security for me comes by knowing that everything I own can fit in my car. After reading this statement you may not think much of it at first - until you realize that my car is a small Plymouth Neon. Yes, a Plymouth, not a Dodge, not that there's any difference. And when I say that it fits, I mean that it fits easily. No stacking or cramming required. If situation dictates that my current place of residence is no longer an option, then I'm secure knowing that I can pick everything up that I own, put it in my car, and find other accommodations.

This may not appeal to everyone out there, but for a select few of us it is the perfect security. Think about all the benefits. "Hey, this neighborhood is dangerous. I guess I'll move!" Or perhaps the classic, "Hey, I think I need a fresh start somewhere out of state. I guess I'll move today!" And these are just a few of the situations that can come in handy. If you hate your roommate, move. If the weather is bad, move. Getting too much junk mail? Move.

Some of you may be wondering what I would do in the case that I lost my car in one way or another. But don't worry, one of the things in my car is a tent.