It may be in the perspective. I can remember a period in my life when I was a sort of a bum; not that I needed to be, just decided to hitch hike around the country. It was a fairly typical hippy thing to do in those days. I spent time in communes, crash pads, abandoned buildings, sleeping in bus stations and student centers, all that. Somehow, the high moral ground I thought I was on didn't seem as rewarding after a while, compared to a nice secure little house and the stability of a family and friends. And it could be really uncomfortable and dangerous. More than just a few post-Woodstock adventurers disappeared into shallow unmarked graves, I think. Had a few close calls myself.

So, I noticed that there weren't any 40 plus types doing what I was, and also the kind of people I generally ran into on the road left an impression; losers with big talk and not much else, mostly quite young like myself. I've learned that to appreciate some types of food you really hate; try them when you're starving. And those warm little working class houses look so nice when you're going down the road with some deranged grand-theft-auto psychos who picked you up at 4:30 am when you were hitching a ride.

All I'm saying is, count your fucking blessings. If you want to reject society, go ahead, and live with the consequences. Just don't forget that you can return to "society" after you're done finding yourself, if you're lucky, and don't have to give in to the ratrace mentality if you choose not to. At least there's a community there, as imperfect as it is.

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