The Bum Lifestyle

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation.

YVON CHOUINARD

A bum is someone who eschews gainful employment and the rewards of that employment which would be an apartment or a house in favor of pursuing their real passions in life. Most of the time, these passions are drugs and drink. But there are those who pursue other passions like surfing, rock climbing, following a jam band on the road, or training for the Olympics. A day job interferes with those pursuits. Unfortunately, you still gotta eat.

I do not care for the bum lifestyle, but I do admire the commitment and the ingenuity that it takes to live this way. It teaches you how little you need to keep body and soul together. My hero on the ways of the bum lifestyle is billionaire Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. Chouinard prefers the term "dirtbag" instead of being called a bum, but a dirtbag is still a bum to me. If you're eating cat food to save on groceries, you're a bum.

A bum is simply someone who chooses freedom and independence over gainful employment. The bum wants to live in a way that is in contradiction to the wider society. They reason that time is more valuable than money. They choose to live an endless vacation enjoying their pleasures while normal folks have to "earn" their two weeks of paid vacation each year.

Personally, I love working. I'd rather work than surf or climb mountains. I am wired differently than most folks who work for the sake of some other end. I enjoy work for the work itself. Getting paid is the bonus. As for vacation, I was prone to selling the time back to the company. I am not a vacation and leisure sort of guy.

My current frustrations with TBI took away what I loved doing. I didn't want this for my life, but I have had to accept it. I work within the limits of the invisible injury focusing on chores and errands that I need to get done to keep my life functioning. TBI is not a vacation but a prison sentence.

I am a frugal person which is why I take notes from those bums. You don't need a lot of money in order to survive. Those frugal tactics help keep me off the street. I live like a bum to keep from becoming a bum. This is the essence of voluntary poverty. It prevents involuntary poverty.

This forced vacation would be a great opportunity before my TBI. TBI took that away. I do less now than I used to do in the free time I had outside of work. I have learned that the most valuable thing is not money or time but energy. I have the time to learn how to surf now. I don't have the energy. The same goes for mountain climbing or writing the great American novel. There is no longer gas in the tank for those activities.

The real secret of Yvon Chouinard and his mastery of living was his energy. We all choose where to put our energy. Chouinard chose the outdoors and his business ventures. As someone with diminished energy, I choose mere survival. Bums are good at surviving. I will never climb a mountain like Chouinard, but I may end up eating cat food.

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Patagonia's founder, who gave his company to a non-profit, loves saving money. From eating cat food to living in beach shacks, here are some of the wackiest examples.

https://www.businessinsider.com/patagonia-founder-yvon-chouinard-saved-money-eating-budget-cheap-lifestyle-2022-9

Francis 2.0 And Mr. Zip It!

 Zip it!

MICHAEL MATT

When Pope Leo XIV appeared on the loggia at St. Peter's, I made the call. He was Francis 2.0. He would continue the agenda of Bergoglio, the Lavender Mafia, the St. Gallen Boys, the Jesuits, and the post conciliar modernist antichurch. Prevost did not disappoint. He is everything I expected him to be.

One of the professional Catholics that nailed it out the gate was Taylor Marshall who pronounced it a disaster, He has since scrubbed that brutally honest and even prophetic video from the YouTube archive. This is because being right will cost you financially.

Right behind Taylor Marshall was Michael Matt of The Remnant who told the traditionalist recognize and resist crowd to "zip it." This is odd behavior from two guys who openly opposed Bergoglio. Now, I realize that you gotta give a new Pope time to disgrace himself before you call him out. We are past that now. Leo has arrived.

One guy that called it early and never wavered was Timothy Gordon. I will explain why I think Gordon is so bold while Matt and Marshall are so timid. It involves the letters "SSPX." Gordon is opposed to the SSPX while Marshall and Matt are not. Somewhere, the SSPX made a strategic move to not oppose Bergoglio, and they wish to continue this strategy under Prevost. Meanwhile, the non-schismatic trads are taking it on the chin. It's weird how things work like that.

I have come to the conclusion and find myself in agreement with Cardinal Burke that the SSPX are in schism. The modernists are good for the business of the SSPX as confused Catholics leave their parishes for the SSPX chapels. One of the competitors to those SSPX chapels were all of the Latin Masses that blossomed after Summorum Pontificum. Those TLMs are now being torched under Traditiones Custodes.

The SSPX clearly do not like competition. They despise sedevacantists with the same zeal that they have for their former brothers in the FSSP. Their long term aim appears to me to be the exclusive home of the TLM while appearing to still be in communion with Rome. Pope Leo can change this which is why they play nice and zip it.

On the Novus Ordo side of things, you have the controversies at LifeSite that clearly deal with Opus Dei members who must also play nice with Leo to keep their cult running. They want everyone to zip it, too. The bottom line is that both the SSPX and Opus Dei love money.

What do the modernists want? They want everyone who has the faith to leave the Church. They don't care which door you take. My advice to all faithful Catholics is to stay in the boat, recognize and resist, and stay and stink. My hero on this is Bishop Athanasius Schneider who has gotten it exactly right. I only see it now late in the game. He is still recognizing and resisting. God bless that man.

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Trad Inc. Crashes Out: What Happened to Taylor Marshall and Michael Matt?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Y4nbkZAF0

Friday Night Ass Itch

I got a hundred dollars smokin' in my billfold

I know I oughta save it, but it's burnin' a hole

Right through my pocket and into my skin

Come Monday morning, I'll be broke again

It's finally Friday, I'm free again

I got my motor running for a wild weekend

It's finally Friday, I'm outta control

Forget the workin' blues and let the good times roll

GEORGE JONES, "Finally Friday"

I have read that Friday afternoon is the most dangerous time to be on the highway. The reason for that is obvious. People get so excited about the weekend to the point that they are about to bust. In their exuberance, they hurt and kill themselves and each other. I call this exuberance the "Friday Night Ass Itch." It is the desire to go to town and show their asses.

I live in absolute dread of the Friday Night Ass Itch. I try to not be on the road during this time. This is before the first drinks are poured from the bottle. The anticipation is more intoxicating than the actual fun. These idiots don't want to waste one precious second of that fun. Nevermind that they waste what is left of their lives in vehicular manslaughter.

By Saturday night, the exuberance has abated. You still have to deal with drunks on the road, but this is later in the evening after the bars close. Most of the pressure and steam has been blown off the night before. The ass itch has been scratched. The worst offenders are already in the county lockup.

I live an intentionally boring life. This normally happens as you get older. My idea of excitement on a Friday night is to watch an old movie with the wife and eat some popcorn. I am not a drinker. By the time the show ends, I am exhausted and go to bed long before any bars in town have closed. At night, I can hear the distant sirens from police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks as they go out to clean up the Friday night mess.

Instead of partying, I sit in the dark and listen to the Red Cup Country Weekend on my vintage Sony Walkman radio. The playlist was created for the party crowd, and I like to listen to the anthems about bonfires, pickup trucks, and Yetis full of good ideas. I have more fun listening to the party on that radio than I ever did in my youth doing the real thing.

My town turns ridiculous on the weekends. Boomers and bikers get on their Harleys and tear down the road making as much noise as possible. The bass boat crowd load up their gear to head to the lake. The off-road crowd bring out their ridiculous Jeeps. Everyone else loads up mountain bikes and kayaks on roof racks that will never touch the trail or the water. But it all looks good. The more sedate crowd goes to the high dollar steak and bourbon place to blow money on expensive food and drink. During the Concussion Ball season, high school, college, and pro games are the top entertainment.

I don't know if these folks are having a good time or just pretending to have a good time. I suspect they are just pretending. Listening to the party is more fun than being at the party. I don't know why that is the case, but it is the case. My life at home is more pleasurable than anything I could do in town on a Friday night. I am pretending to have a good time. I think they are pretending to have a good time, too. The difference is that I don't pay the cost or suffer the consequences.

The 80% Rule

I’ve always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn’t appeal to me. Once I reach that 80 percent level I like to go off and do something totally different; that probably explains the diversity of the Patagonia product line—and why our versatile, multifaceted clothes are the most successful.

YVON CHOUINARD

I do not own anything from Patagonia. I have never purchased a product from Patagonia. I am not into mountain climbing, surfing, or fly fishing like Yvon Chouinard. I am an admirer of Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard because he is someone engaged in intentional living. I always admire this intentionality even if it goes to places where I would not choose to go myself.

Chouinard's quotation above mirrors much of my own intentionality on things especially his 80% rule. Like Chouinard, I tend to be a generalist knowing that expertise requires a discipline and specialization I don't care to do. I aim for competence not expertise. Here is how it looks in practice in my life.

The 0% Rule

Years ago, I put together a "Not To Do" list of things I had some interest in doing, but I knew that doing them was stupid. I owned a guitar and a mountain bike for a season which I decluttered from my life. I realized that they were the detritus of dreams I was never going to fulfill. I have witnessed others spend far more on the same stupidity. This is because buying is easier than doing.

I found that a list of things to not do would save me a lot of time, money, and energy. I still add to that Not To Do list. Now that I am old and damaged in the brain, I find that list to be the smartest thing I've ever created. If I didn't have it to waste before the accident, it is certainly the case after the accident.

The 10% Rule

I define a hobby as the serious pursuit of a worthless activity. Consequently, I do not have hobbies. Either I do worthwhile activities, or I do worthless activities without being serious about them. Those two worthless activities would be playing the kazoo for ten minutes a day and watching birds in the backyard with a cheap monocular from Amazon. A laminated brochure on birds from Tractor Supply completes my birdwatching kit. I don't care to elevate my game in these areas beyond 10%.

The 80% Rule

This rule applies to those areas that I do pursue seriously. My writing is one of those things, but I limit myself to writing blog posts. I don't write short stories, novels, poems, or books. I was never good at that stuff, and I have capitulated to that reality. I have clever ideas in these areas, but I don't have what it takes to pull them off.

Another area is radio communication. This became an interest in relation to prepping. I listen to AM/FM/WX radio bands, but I don't waste my time or money on the hobby known as shortwave listening. I am also not a ham radio operator, and I do not care to ever get my "ham ticket." I stick with CB radio which is cheap and simple and allows me to contact people in my area in case the cellphone network goes down. I do not care for GMRS.

Another area is self-defense. I chose Krav Maga as being the best self defense system for an average Joe like myself. I am not Bruce Lee. Despite rumors to the contrary, Krav Maga is a basic system in comparison to martial arts that take years to master. I just need to know enough to get out of a bad situation.

Another area is gardening. I chose lasagna gardening in raised beds because I don't have the energy for a till method. I only care about food crops and leave the flower gardening to my wife. I have no interest in taking the course and becoming a master gardener.

Another area is fitness. I walk, do bodywork exercises for strength, and perform manual labor for an hour each day except rain days and Sundays. I do not care to run marathons, lift heavy weights, do Crossfit, or compete in the Ironman Triathlon. I just need to keep my parts moving and prevent atrophy. This becomes an important consideration when you don't move much the rest of the time as you destimulate in a dark room.

Versatility

The last thing Chouinard stresses is versatility. Basically, Chouinard produced clothing in accordance with his 80% rule by making products that cover 80% of your needs. For instance, the hiking shorts can also be used for rock climbing, trail running, etc. The key to this versatility is to make or choose things that are basic which lends itself to a universal application. Simplicity is the key to versatility.

In my own life, I find that workwear covers 80% of what I do. The same clothes that I wear for yard work is also my exercise wear for walking and my casual wear. Likewise, I find that a Toyota Tacoma 2WD pickup covers 80% of my transportation needs. I don't care for a gigantic Silverado or a lifted Jeep Wrangler. I don't have needs like that. I never leave the payment, and I don't pull trailers or RV campers. I haven't driven in years, but I am happy knowing my wife has no problems driving my small truck. I will always choose a small truck because it is the most versatile for our needs.

Conclusion

When it comes to Chouinard and intentional living, you just need to choose what you are going to do and not do. Then, you need to decide what level you are going to do the things you choose to do. Finally, the gear you use should be able to be used across those multiple things. This cuts down on a great deal of waste. This amounts to a simple and sustainable lifestyle.