I’ve heard a homeless man describing himself as “homefree”. It’d be easy to label this as misplaced pride in his lamentable condition, but I think he was on to something.
As a teenager and in my early twenties, I spent a few nights on park benches after having failed to secure hostel rooms. I also used to take open-air naps in parks and public benches while traveling around Europe in the summer. I remember the tone of voice in which one passer-by said to another, “Look at that guy sleeping on a park bench.” It was pure envy.
There is a freedom that comes from moving from place to place, without planning in advance more than a few hours, staying and sleeping whereever one feels like it. My time vagabonding in Europe was the freest I’ve ever felt, with my time backpacking in the Sierra Nevada and along the Pacific Crest Trail a close second. I’ve never been homeless, as it has always been my choice to sleep under the open sky, but I know what it’s like to be homefree.
Nehaveigur 