Outdoor living, summer 2004, by Jonathon Beail-Farkas
From MemoryArchive
Who: Jonathan Beail-Farkas What: Living outdoors and loving When: Summer 2004 Where: Asheville, North Carolina
In the summer of 2004, I spent my nights in a small camp east of Asheville, North Carolina. The path to my home wandered a few hundred yards behind a gas station, through dense green broad leaves and along a cool stony spring. My days lived in town and were comprised of playing guitar on public benches, sidewalks, and to open-air bars.
The days were long and warm with a soft mountain breeze and the town vibrated with good feelings. A few months into the summer, the weather became more brisk and the rain became very cold. In mid August, I decided to seek more convenient and protective shelter. My new locality became the covered porch of an abandoned house on South French Broad Street in downtown Asheville. This spot boasted a security assurance-- a necessity to climb ten feet up a Plum Tree, scoot for thirty feet along a four inch ledge and swing around a corner on an exposed roof truss about fifteen feet above a small boulder-yard.
Weather quickly deteriorated from late August to mid September and outdoors became quite uncomfortable. I considered acting as the multitude of other vagrants I had met, and heading south; but decided that migrating was for the birds. Asheville was very kind to me at this time; many tourists were in town for the autumn colors and were very generous to me. I was also regularly attending friendly house jams and playing small gigs with friends. I met a similar minded hipster called Dave who carried a Bullnose: battery powered, 7/8 scale, electric guitar mounted on an acoustic body, and powered by a 9.6 volt cordless drill battery. He was an extremely brilliant slacker who chose to live in a 1987 Volkswagen Rabbit hatchback, which he had decked out in a most excellent utilitarian style. For a fistful of cash, Dave and I played and sang songs to the evenings. We drank free drinks nearly every night and had a blast with more than just lint in our pockets. Life was great, but the weather was still changing...
Through late September tourists returned to their homes and lives and bars closed early. Under the influence of Venus, Nature’s Breath carried much snow and freezing rain. The smart native would have traveled to lower elevations and, ever the wanderer, I did the same.
The day I stepped off the greyhound in Asheville, I recall feeling lost; I carried an empty wallet and an eighty-pound bag over my shoulder. I was sweating profusely and eating too little. In mid October, I left on foot; I felt fat, happy, and cold. Only my pockets were heavy as I kicked toward the nearest ocean.
