It’s About This Time of the Year

Summer Solstice

In Northern hemisphere locations, it’s about his time of the year when, sans family responsibilities, homelessness can actually be kinda fun. In most places it is warming up, and people are once again walking the streets and beaches of this planet looking for interesting things to do, and places to go. Just sitting on a park bench in the warmth of the sun can be among the greatest healing techniques available, and it’s all for free!

One of the many things to do is either to daydream, or to become a people watcher. In tourist areas, that can be wildly amusing. It’s also far easier to strike up a conversation when people have both the time and leisure to devote a few moments to considered thought and opinion, and when they are not busy bundling themselves against the weather. Although there exist some locations, such as extreme Southern California for instance (San Diego?), where the weather is gentle and permitting the entire calendar through, most locations really liven up during the period of summer, and for a few weeks into the fall, until the wind gets nippy and wicked once again.

If you are lucky enough to have a trusted friend or buddy during this season, the two of you together can look forward to days’ spent simply enjoying the out of doors, and not worrying about the otherwise constant hustle required to obtain suitable shelter, and to protect yourself from freezing to death, or what may be worse, uncontrollable shivering. The latter is what terrorizes me, and keeps me always on the lookout for some productive activity to pursue, like obtaining some stupid low-wage employment sufficient to purchase (or rent) minimal shelter, and warmth. During the summer, however, things are far more pleasant and even, relatively speaking of course, comforting in a way.

Sleeping out under the stars can also at this time of year be sort of a trip, so long as you can avoid the lawman coming to roust you out. Like most human beings, the law tends to not venture far from their vehicles in times of weather distress, but scout around quite freely when things warm up a bit. So summer, like most things in life, tends to be a double-edged sword.

To me, one of the stupidest things municipalities are wont to do, is to fine you (sometimes hundreds of dollars) for illegal camping. Damn! If you had any money you wouldn’t be camping out! Following a few nights in the city jail, you are then normally released and have to fulfill some amount of community service in lieu of the fine you could not afford. It wouldn’t be so bad if your community service entailed building low cost shelter for the homeless, like Homes for Humanity or something, but instead you usually end up doing something far more pro-forma (like sweeping and cleaning up around public institutions), then actually accomplishing or building anything significant. We all know there is one bitch of a workforce out there, in the homeless population, if only they’d figure and fund a method whereby it could be used productively. I suppose, though, that that makes too much sense.

Anyway, today is the summer solstice, so enjoy my friend.

JETHRO TULL - Hunting Girl Lyrics

One day I walked the road and crossed a field
to go by where the hounds ran hard.
And on the master raced: behind the hunters chased
to where the path was barred.
One fine young lady's horse refused the fence to clear.
I unlocked the gate but she did wait until the pack had
disappeared.

Crop handle carved in bone;
sat high upon a throne of finest English leather.
The queen of all the pack,
this joker raised his hat and talked about the weather.
All should be warned about this high born Hunting Girl.
She took this simple man's downfall in hand;
I raised the flag that she unfurled.

Boot leather flashing and spurnecks the size of my thumb.
This highborn hunter had tastes as strange as they come.
Unbridled passion: I took the bit in my teeth.
Her standing over --- me on my knees underneath.

My lady, be discrete.
I must get to my feet and go back to the farm.
Whilst I appreciate you are no deviate,
I might come to some harm.
I'm not inclined to acts refined, if that's how it goes.
Oh, high born Hunting Girl,
I'm just a normal low born so and so.