Beautiful Rowdy Prisoners

Used this image because I lived across from this camp when I was in Slab City so it was the closest thing I could find.

This episode is about me. It’s been a minute since my last episode, being busy with the holidays, and I just got covid (getting better). Also, I’m extremely self-conscious about putting anything out there that is just about me. I recorded and scrapped like two full versions of this lol.

This episode is about when I left home, and the time leading up to that point, and why I left home and kicked off what would become a three-year journey. I’m aware my story is different from others especially in the sense that I essentially chose to be homeless so that I could travel. Over those three years it became less and less of a personal choice and more and more of a hole I didn’t know how to get out of, or if I ever would. By the end I had been living in the same town for months living out of my car and using heroin every day.

BUT, this is about my life, my struggles with addiction (and relationships) and my struggle to try to find “freedom,” whatever that even means. The title of this episode comes from a poem “Dropping Keys” by Hafez, a 14th century Persian poet:

“Beautiful rowdy prisoners” reminded me of all of my friends from the road, and the attempt to rebel and live a life of meaning in a capitalist wasteland. As far as finding those keys I’ve taken a very roundabout journey to arrive back in Central Illinois and just now am learning what true spiritual freedom is. This episode is a kind of summary of defining moments leading up to me leaving home the final time. I talk about the first time I left home and why, and how I wasn’t able to stay gone. I’m in between interviews at the moment so I figured it was good timing to tackle this introduction of myself to the podcast part of what I’m doing. More episodes coming.