ily gets a coat!
Happy Camperbus 2 months ago // 2 responses // Outdoor Adventure Happy Camper Bus

Marking the end of our first official week of traveling and Bus living, we entered the phantasmagogic community of Half Moon Bay. I had requested that we make a stop here before venturing on to San Fransisco. I feel anxious to relax for a spell, nap, write, do laundry, perhaps practice the guitar a bit before heading into the famously bustling city. I am also drawn here out of want to visit the well-known, big-wave surf spot, Mavericks.

We found a cafe in town and enjoyed a hearty breakfast there. Somewhat of a feast actually, though we were not famished. I went to use the restroom (not out of desperation this time, just a normal trip to the loo after a good meal and an even better dose of coffee) which happened to be tucked in the very back, through the kitchen and baking area. On my way back to our table on the porch, a man who was working, and who seemed right at home in the kitchen gave me a smile and three sharp pats on the topmost part of my back. It was a friendly and somewhat comforting gesture, but I was more than a bit baffled by it and while I was not all offended by it, I couldn’t figure if it was out of place coming from a complete stranger. I told Smick about it and he made mention of the notion that the man may have thought me to be homeless. Wow, I hadn’t considered that. Perhaps it was time to seek out another shower.

We headed back to the Bus to kick back for a while. Smick & Capone stepped out for a brief jaunt around the block, when I was approached by a very lovely lady. She was friendly and to the point. She stated that her and her husband owned the cafe and that she had seen me in there earlier having breakfast. She said that she has a coat that has been sitting in the lost & found for six months and that she would like for me to have it. At first I attempted to engage in normal conversation with her, while trying on the coat (which turned out to be fabulous, and just the right thing. It is warm, comfortable, cozy even, it fits me perfectly. It smells faintly of cinnamon after residing in a cafe for six months and is to date, the softest article I own) and then I realized that while she had not a bit of judgment in her, I was officially being given a hand-out and that she was not at all interested in the how’s or whys of my existence.

Woah, heavy. Considering I have dedicated nearly the last decade of my life prior to my current pursuit of travel, to working highly enmeshed in, and becoming critically intimate with the homeless population. I was a very neurotic kid and as I entered adolescence my neurosis coupled with an intuitive side convinced me something was not quite right in my very own society. I went through rough times and struggled with alot of issues, including becoming very anti-social, after being known for having a gregarious disposition and need for human connection, despite the neurosis. Through a strange series of events and by no virtue of my own, I found myself volunteering in a homeless shelter at age 23.

This was easy work for me and it, in part, began to heal my soul. I ended up working in various places that house or hold the dredges of society, going to school and developing a knack for counseling very, very difficult populations. At first, I was just like on fire and had a sort of know it all type attitude. After about two years, I began taking my position more seriously and realizing the effect that my counsel might have on another person. I continued working ALOT, going to school, increasing my skills, gaining loads of valuable experiences and absolutely falling in the love with the homeless, the drug and alcohol addicted, the ailing and cursed souls. The ones that cause certain folks to shield their eyes and minds away from the problem or cross the street when faced with an up close and personal view of someone struggling, or far from perfect became my livelihood and allowed me to feel binded to the ground and the human race in general.

Today, ily gets a coat.