Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagabond

My first book of note aka "How to be homeless and broke -the fun way"

One aspect of this site is to share my work as a writer through the years. I’ve already started to share the audiobook version of Notes from Nowhere (2020) but now let’s go further back and hit the first book I wrote, Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagabond (2003 & 2012 revised). In a sense, the success of this book set me on the path I’m on, or the failure of this book - depending on how you look at it.

In the paid subscriber section, I’ll share a link to where you can get the full PDF version of the book for free and I’ll also offers some commentary on the parts of the text we cover. In addition, paid subscribers will get some updates on ways to do things more than two decades after first publication.

Free subscribers will get pieces of the text itself, delivered weekly. Allons-y!

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The characters and events in this book are not fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is not coincidental and is intended by the author.

Dedication This book was originally dedicated to my father, John Albert Damitio, Jr. He didn't understand it and called it crap. So, I revoke the dedication and re-dedicate it to my Uncles Larry, Morris, and Murray. They are three men who I am certain do understand and I am thankful to them all for the lessons which they taught me.

Acknowledgments I'd like to thank my brother for suggesting I stop living in a van in Seattle and find some way to go to China. I also need to thank the retired postal worker I met on the way to the North American Anarchist Conference in 2000 who went by the handle 'The Old Reptile' - it was he who suggested I write what I was learning by being homeless as a book. I'd like to thank my sister for sending me a book called 'Hobo' by Eddie Joe Cotton for Christmas in 2002. I'd like to thank Eddie Joe Cotton for getting published and thus showing there was actually a market for a book like Rough Living, even though the legitimate publishers never chose to publish it. I'd like to thank my friend Izak Holden for doing the internew with Aquillo Mcdlot which originally appeared in my Anarchist Zine, Conchsense. I'd like to thank Aquillo Mallot (aka Two Dog Tom) and Hopalong Tom for being the type of crazy but generally harmless hobos who will accept all kinds of people at their fires. I'd like to thank my friend Stephan for always being a good buddy, wingman, and buying drinks for me when I was down and out because he knew it would eventually come around. I'd like to thank Kevin and Candida for letting me park my VW in their backyard in Seattle and allowing me to use their kitchen and toilet at will. I'd like to thank a lot of other people, but for the moment, that will have to do.

Authors Note for 2012 Edition It's hard to believe it's been almost ten years since the original Rough Living: Tips and Tales of a Vagabond was published by Booklocker. When I see those paperback books with Vagabond misspelled 'Vegebond' on the spine, I can't help but laugh. The fact the book was never proofread or edited by anyone other than myself accounts for the numerous typos, misspellings, bad grammar, and horrible layout of the original. It might also account for the fact every publisher I spoke with told me my book was unpublishable, though the reason they gave was the same across the board - I'd written a book for people who don't have money and people without money don't buy books. The funny thing is lots ofpeople have bought this book, but far more have read it. While I've only sold a few thousand copies, the book has been downloaded and shared with upwards of 100,000 people!

Certainly, there was and always will be a market for a book like this, whether the publishers choose to see it or not. I'm simply thankful I live in a time when I could self-publish and share my work on the internet. There have been times when I've felt bitter about all those free copies that were distributed in direct violation of the copyright, but ultimately - it's actually pretty cool, even if I didn't profit from it.

Consider it balancing payment to the universe for any films, TV shows, or music I've used or enjoyed without buying. I'm going to leave this version, essentially unchanged. I am going through and spell checking, fixing some grammatical errors, and hopefully fixing any and all of the formatting issues the book has suffered from in the past.

Next year (2013), I am (hopefully) going to publish an updated version of Rough Living with new material, photos and more. I am also in the process ofputting the final edits on Smooth Living: More Tips and Tales of a Vagabond. I hope you will enjoy all three of them!

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MEET THE GRASSHOPPER

Once upon a time there was an ant and a grasshopper. They both lived in a wonderful place filled with enjoyable activities and fulfilling opportunities.

The grasshopper loved to play his fiddle, eat fresh fruit right off the vine, and dance in the moonlight.

The ant warned the grasshopper that winter would soon come and that he should follow the example of the ant by preparing for it. Meaning, the grasshopper should forego the simple pleasures in life so that he could prepare for winter. The ant did this. Each day he woke up early, said goodbye to his family, and went to work. He stored up resources for them, so they could live through the winter. In the evening, he came home and went to sleep early so he could wake up in the morning and do it again. The grasshopper couldn’t understand why the ant would do it.

“Come, play in the moonlight, there’s plenty of food. Worry about winter when winter comes.”

The ant didn’t listen to the grasshopper, just as the grasshopper didn’t listen to the ant. They spoke different languages.

The way this story usually ends is the uptight capitalist paradigm of the industrialized world is the winter comes and the ant watches smugly from his warm house stocked with food as the grasshopper freezes and starves to death.

I never liked the ant. That’s because I’m a grasshopper.

The ants control the world. They have been trying for a long time to turn all of us grasshoppers into more worker ants. They want us to produce, produce, produce and then consume, consume, consume. They want us to give up our pleasure in life and join them in drudgery so that they can feel they are making the right decision and perhaps enjoy the fruit of our labor. They want us to validate them by joining them, or they want to smugly look on as we freeze and starve to death. I say, nix to them.

I’ve rewritten the ending of the old fable. Here it is.

“You better get to work or you’re going to freeze to death this winter,” the ant told the grasshopper, ever so smugly.

“My life is my work,” the grasshopper said. “You better take a second to enjoy your life or you’re going to keel over prematurely of a coronary. You’ll wake up one morning a very old ant and wonder why you never saw your kids grow into big red ants. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. You better worry about you though.”

The ant continued working and the grasshopper continued playing his fiddle and dancing in the moonlight. In fact, the grasshopper had so much time to practice his fiddling and dancing, that he became a virtuoso!

When the winter came the ant waited to see the grasshopper freeze or come begging for warmth or food. It didn’t happen. The grasshopper had used his free time to learn where to get food and how to stay warm without the ant’s help. He spent the winter entertaining friends with his fiddle playing and staying warm using creativity. When spring came around, he was just fine.

So this isn’t a book for beggars. It’s a book for those hardy souls who choose not to be ants. It’s a collection of a few of the things I’ve learned to get through the winter. It’s a book for grasshoppers and ants that want to become grasshoppers. I hope you enjoy it.

The Tips of a Vagabond

Introduction

What is rough living?

Rough living is making do without. Without whatever you might need or want at any given moment. Without food, without money, without shelter, without whatever it is you want - immediately at hand. Rough living is spending your last dollar without knowing where the next one will come from. Rough living is also about the rewards which come from making it anyway.

The following is some of what I've learned and seen in my career as a vagabond so far. The book is broken up into two sections. The first section is made up of tips for living the rough life. The second section is made up of some of my global adventures in 2000 and 2001.

This book is not intended for the homeless. It is not directed at street people. It is not a how to manual for people who want to live in public restrooms and beg for change. This is a book for people who don’t fit into the accepted paradigms.

I hope the advice is useful and the stories are inspiring and enjoyable to both travelers and armchair adventurers alike.

The Call of the Road

Chances are, at some point in your existence, you've felt the call of the road. It has called me for as long as I remember. The call of the road is impossible to resist. I've tried to fight it but I eventually find myself powerless to hold it at bay. I am seduced by the desire to see what lies beyond the bend or over the next ridge.

Rough living requires little in the way of possessions or skills, but a few things make your life a whole lot better.

You must absolutely have the will to live. The sheer desire to survive. If you are suicidal on any level, you won’t last long. There are far too many opportunities to die. The will to live comes in many forms. Curiosity has kept this cat alive through some desperate times. I need to know what is going to happen next. I have friends who have made it because they love their families. Still others live to fulfill some religious devotion. The important thing is you refuse to die. Even when it seems like it would be the easiest course. Absolute refusal. If you want to die, you won't survive a week of rough living. So, first of all, if you want to learn some of the lessons and experience some of the joys of rough living, you need to want to live.

If you have that, the rest is a matter of personal preference. I'm almost never without a pocketknife, a fire starter of some kind, and my boots. Add a blanket, a tarp, and a jacket, and I've got just about everything I need.

Another essential is proper ID. Unfortunately, we live in a security conscious world and if you want to avoid hassles with the law having a passport, driver’s license, and birth certificate helps keep you form their grasp. These three pieces of ID will help you in other ways too - but more on that later.

I like to have is what old-time fur-trappers in the Pacific Northwest called the possibles bag.

The Knife: Everyone has his or her preferred blade. For me it is a medium sized Swiss army knife. Something which fits in my pocket but gives me a can opener, a couple of blades, a leather punch, tweezers, scissors and a screw driver. I have friends who prefer a good utility knife with a serrated edge, locking blade, and thumb lever. For anyone involved in commercial fishing this is the knife of choice. I've known a couple of guys who would be dead if they hadn't of had a one handed opening serrated edge to cut themselves out of tangled lines when they were dragged under while fishing in Alaska and the Arctic.

Fire-starters: There’s a few ways to light a fire. The easiest is to use matches or a lighter. You can also use your lighter to smoke cigarettes, smoke pot, cut rope, melt plastic, and much more. Fire is too precious not to have available.

Boots: I've probably put 10,000 miles on my boots. They've gone through three sets of soles, a dozen sets of laces, I've had them patched, replaced the insoles repeatedly, and will continue to do so. Once you find a good pair of boots...keep them forever.

Jacket: Even if it's not cold where you are a lightweight jacket is worth carrying. I use a simple waterproof shell with a hood. It blocks the wind and keeps me dry. I can wear layers underneath if it's cold.

Blanket: A wool blanket will keep you warm even if it is wet. You can use it as a pillow, a poncho, roll it into a pack, and use it for a cushion, whatever. A good blanket has a thousand functions.

Tarp: A six-foot by six-foot tarp will keep you dry anywhere, it will keep your gear dry, it's light, it folds up small, and if you combine it with the tarps of friends it can become part of a communal tarpatecture structure. More on tarpatecture later.

Possibles Bag: The possibles bag is a small bag you can carry on your belt, in your pack, or somewhere on your person. Basically it is a bag that has gear in it to help you in any situation possible. My possibles bag typically has an extra pair of eyeglasses, some fishhooks and line, a flint and steel striker, some basic first aid gear, and a pen and paper. Depending on where I am, the contents of my 'possibles' changes.

Four ways to get what you need

Buying. The easy way to get what you want is to buy it. Whether you are looking for food, shelter, love, or excitement; cash can get you most of what you need. I'm not knocking it, but buying is not my favorite way to get what I need and not just because I don't have a big wad of jack.

Making. This is probably my favorite method of getting the essentials. It involves looking around at what you already have and then figuring out a way to make it into what you need. A monk I met in Laos had this down to an art. He said, "First I look at what I have, then I figure out why it is exactly what I need." I'm not so enlightened as he is but I am pretty good at what the Marines call "adapt and overcome".

Asking. This method is almost scary in its effectiveness. You simply figure out exactly what it is you want, who has it or can provide it, and then you ask for it. There's no guarantee it will work, but I've found it invaluable to get over my shyness or sense of the ridiculous and simply ask, "Can I have this coat?" or whatever...you won't know until you try it.

Taking. I'm not proud of it, but I've done my share of taking. I try to restrict my theft to what I truly need or things that hurt individuals little while stinging the big corporations. Sure, it's justification, but it feels better to know the bank, the airlines, or the credit card company will reimburse someone. If you truly want to leam how to take things, I recommend reading Abbie Hoffman’s “Steal This Book."

Specific Examples- Tobacco Buying- you walk into a store, give a clerk your money, and walk out with a smoke. Making- you pick up cigarette butts on your stroll around the neighborhood and then smoke the tobacco from them in a cigarette you roll using a cigarette paper or a piece of newspaper. Asking- you ask smokers you see "Can I bum a smoke?" until someone gives you one. Taking- you steal the tobacco from a person or a store.

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Note from the present in 2025. That’s all for now. I thought to take it to the controversial moment where I told people that stealing is a valid way to get what you want or need. This one thing generated so much hate online and in person that I almost gave up writing. One guy went so far as to cut and paste my face onto a gay porn star and post it in forums - in 2004! I was a revenge porn deep-fake before there were deep fakes! It didn’t look convincing, but still, it hurt.

Analysis and thoughts on this along with some updates and where to get the PDF of Rough Living below for paid subscribers.

I am indignified - how about you?

~CD Familias

Satoshi Manor

Otaru, Japan