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move along Sir Last night I woke to the sound of a police officer tapping a flashlight against the window of my van. I scrambled to the front seat, put the keys in the ignition, and turned the power on so that I could roll down my window, then spoke with the officer briefly. She was not aggressive, and actually seemed quite embarrassed to be doing her job. I provided my identification so she could check and see if I had any warrants for my arrest, but other than that our interaction was almost cordial. The fact that my van smelled of marijuana was mentioned, and when I offered to leave the parking lot and find a different place for the night I was told to remain where I was, just to be safe. No use getting in trouble for a DWI - Driving While Intoxicated. A lot of people think this only applies to alcohol, but the truth is you can get a DWI for driving under the influence of just about any “substance” or drug. So I was told, emphatically, to stay put for the night, but find a different place to park from now on. This is not the first time I’ve been woken by a police officer or security guard in the middle of the night. During a particularly heavy and lengthy stint of rain I tried to take refuge in parking garages that were either part of a shopping mall, or designated for public transportation. I’d hoped to blend in with other vehicles, but I turned out to be the only person parked in these places at 3 / three in the morning, so I’ve been told to “move along” more than once. Every person I’ve encountered has been polite, which I appreciate, and some do seem to almost be embarrassed by what they have to do as part of their job. It’s obvious to them that I’m not a criminal mastermind, setting up and getting ready to burgle a place, nor am I some scumbag who leaves garbage strewn about the area where I park. I do my best to be as inconspicuous as possible, but sometimes I just can’t win. There was a brief time when I was parking in a neighborhood, near a walking path, but a man in a small apartment complex became overly interested in my presence and I started to fear the police might get involved. At one point the guy stopped and began taking photos of the van (I assume the license plate) so my desire to avoid confrontation won out and I moved on. It was a good spot, but I think as the weather gets better it’ll become a place where I no longer want to park, because of what I assume will be an increase of foot traffic on the path. For now, I’m not sure where to go, but once I get a job the place I park when I want to sleep will have a lot to do with the location of my workplace. With the exception of my storage unit, there is nothing tethering me to any particular city, so if I find a job that is 15 / fifteen miles away I can technically move there, and don’t have to travel that far every day, twice a day. I can simply make sure most of what I need is in the van, and find a spot a few miles from work if I want to. If there are advantages to being homeless and living in a van, they are small like that, but still significant.  |
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