Three Month Ride

I'm dancing in Sacramento at the moment, and it's a beautiful city. There are rivers and great bars and people. But, one thing I've noticed a lot here is the homeless, and it got me thinking about my times without a home. Well, that's actually not the truth, I had a car to live in.


I don't know why I decided to live in my car. I had money, I was attending college, and working two jobs. Also, I was flying to Korea for a two week vacation at that time. All I know is, I ended up living in my car for three months.


I owned an Isuzu Rodeo at the time. They're smaller SUVs, so I had enough room in the back to stretch out. All I owned were my clothes, my school supplies, and the Isuzu. It wasn't like I needed a lot of storage. Maybe, I just wanted to see if I could do it, or maybe...

The first month was terrible. I didn't know where to park, or which places were safe. I first started parking on a street that had a lot of activity. Every ten minutes a car or someone would pass by. I thought this would be safer because there were people around to protect me. If someone did mess with me, someone else would see and come to my rescue. I was wrong.


I didn't get much sleep the first month. I would wake up every ten minutes because of a car passing by, or people walking by. I hung my clothes up all around my back windows, so no one could see in "my home" so to say. But this only made me more paranoid with so much activity all around me.

Every thing I heard sounded like someone knocking on my car. I thought it might be the police going to write me a ticket. On a few occasions, I heard people walking by talking about how they knew someone was in the back of that Isuzu. They would say, "look at those clothes hung up, I bet someone's back there." I knew I had to leave such a loud scene.

Now, some of you might be asking, how did I shower? or brush my teeth; basically how did I keep presentable? At the time, I worked for the YMCA. I had a free gym membership, so everyday I went to the gym. I would lift weights, swim, or play basketball, then I would shower and make myself a hot stud.


I have to tell you, at this time, I was in shape. Not only was I working out constantly, but I mostly ate canned food; tuna, green beans, and other vegetables. I was a rock. Actually, when I look at the pictures of this time, I was skinny. I could tell I wasn't happy, but it was a learning experience.

The second month was easier. I found comfortable places to park my car. Places where I didn't have to worry about people finding out I was in the back of the Isuzu. I found a little park next to a harbor. It stayed open til 2 am. There were other campers and the like parked inside the parking lot, so I blended in. I would sleep till 1:45, then drive to a quiet street and sleep till morning. It was working well.


I also discovered I had comrades. Of course the people you can tell; the dishevelled, raggedy Ann's and Andy's we always walk by, brought me in. They seem to bring everyone in. But, there were "respectable" people too. Business men and women would see me sitting in my parked car, and tell me past experiences. They would say, " to get through college I had to sleep in my car too, keep fighting." I practiced martial arts at this time. Accomplished people in my classes would tell me they've done it at my age to get by. Business men in suits would see my belongings hanging up, and tell me, "you'll make it." It felt good to belong.

Into my third month, I found a nice quiet street. It had large houses with huge lots, so I didn't have to worry about people seeing me from their home windows. There lots were too big to see me out on the street. Also, there weren't many street lights. It was nice and dark, I could get a nice sleep without any lights shining through my windows. It seemed this street had no activity at all, I was safe in "my little home."


I don't know if people know this, they probably do because everyone does it. A lot of people bump your car. I think I had at least two people a night bump my car from parallel parking, getting too close to my bumper. After awhile you get used to it. Also, I wasn't going to come running out the back and scream at people; cops would come for sure. So I just laid in the back with my comforter over my head, protected from any observable eyes.

One night I laid half asleep under my comforter, when I heard a loud noise. It was about 2 am, and at first I thought it was someone just bumping my car, while they were parking. So I continued trying to sleep. I don't know why, but I decided to sit up and see what was going on. Maybe it was because the sound was loud, and close.


I sat up, looked in front of me, and I saw the back of a head sitting in my drivers seat. There's a guy sitting in my car, trying to start it. At first, I didn't know what to do. I could feel my heart swing dancing in my chest, I was terrified. I just looked at him for about 10 seconds wondering if it was real. He never looked back, or noticed I was behind him.

I crawled on my knees, in sort of a run, towards him, and yelled as loud as I could. When I reached the back of his seat, I swung with all my force at his head. I must have scared him more than he scared me. In less time it took me to get behind him, he was out the door running for a brown Camaro. His friend was waiting outside in the Camaro. When the car thief reached his passenger side, they dragged raced off into the sunset.

I was shaking like a baby rattle. My heart was making the rattle noise. I knew I couldn't sleep in my car from that time forward. They might be back, I would be in trouble. I called a friend, and couched surfed my way for a little time.

I can't imagine what I would have done if I never sat up and saw what was happening. What would I have done if my car started moving while I was lying in the back? Or worse, I could have slept through it all, and woke up the next day in a TJ chop shop. Never again.