How many of you have
been on a vacation and said to yourself, “I could just stay here. Shuck it all
and opt out for a wilder side of life, live like I feel I would like in the
wilderness. living as much as possible off the bounty of the land.” Mostly, we
never do that. However, way more people have done it and more giving in to that
call everyday.
Daniel Suelo has
lived without money for over a decade hiding in the Arches National park,
living in caves and nooks and crannys of the area. He says it is against the
law to live like this, but has defied all that it stands for. He was busted by
a BLM ranger and cited 125 bucks. He didn’t respond, just moved to another
better hidden location in a hard to get to nook. The ranger was conflicted,
because Suelo was not harming a thing, some light foraging and hunting and
fishing was all. “Suelo” means ground in Spanish and is not his real name. He
rode to court with the ranger and stood in front of the judge… They gave him 20
days to volunteer at a shelter he already volunteered at, so it was like brer’
rabbit being told he has to spend time in the brier patch. He does house sit
for food and barters. Most nights are spent outside. He also has a book about
“The Man who Quit Money”.
Ben Fogle has
tracked many who have gone wild and has a TV series. One of the men he found is
David Glasher, 69, who left it all behind. He was a business man who lost his 6
million in the stock crash of 1987. He lost his house, cars, and wife. With
what little he had left, he bought a small parcel of a tropical sand on
Restoration island, off the north east coast of Australia. He was a typical
over weight biz guy. Now he is fit and trim and feels great. Today he sports a
big white beard, wears only a leather thong and wanders the island with his
dog. His only steady company is a female mannequin named Miranda, propped up in
his living room chair. He says she is bit worn and is missing an arm but she is
quiet.
He gets up at
sunrise for his many chores, like line fishing and collecting rain water. He
collects rock oysters and makes a homemade brew he trades for coral trout and
mackerel. He says he will never go back and likes living in the “beyond” and
says he’s way smarter than ever.
If more than one
boat is here, I feel it is getting too crowded. He would like to think some
woman will come along to share his paradise—out of the billions of women one
should be out there.
Another of Ben
Fogle’s finds is John Wells. He built a place deep in the badlands of Texas,
after moving from New York. He has a solar shower, a tiny bedroom with a swamp
cooler and a green house for his veggies. He was a fashion photographer. He
sold his holdings in New York and dove into the life of solitude. This area
seems to attract romantics, nomads, wasters, and doomsday preppers. He fits in
well, because he likes guns. His only company is a slightly crazy rooster.
As Fogle says,
“These last two seem to epitomize the single white male desire to have a life
in the wild”
Ben Fogle’s new
series will debut April 22nd… You can Google Ben Fogle for many
other stories
Feels a lot like the
Feral Woods man is lurking in the shadows. I can cite many more not only from
personal contact but by searching the internet. They are out there.
By Dude McLean
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