Journey into the Unfathomable

Entry by: Phillip O’Donnell

I met a traveler back in August, 2015 as I searched the streets of downtown Houston, TX for a homeless person to converse with. My goal, philosophically, was to gather data on the personal and civilizational causes of homelessness for my own philosophical development, but this event also became the premise of my first book (still being composed). I passed many homeless people as I walked, but none attracted the attention of the internal compass guiding me. At least, not until I reached an intersection and my eyes caught sight of a young man of similar age approaching. Wrapped around his head, a black bandana accentuated the drive to live a life free from the hindrances of other’s arbitrary beliefs, and his swagger emanated a nonchalant air of one who commands the reality around him. He wore a green cloth backpack that had a wooden baseball bat sticking out the top. Before me, a true adventurer strode my way and beyond.

I remained standing in almost perfect stillness as I mulled over my internal compass’ evaluation of this person’s existential significance. My compass screamed “here, is the one I have been looking for!” My mind, however, toiled with healthy skepticism, going back and forth between acceptance and denial. Finally, I gave in to the wisdom of my compass and hurried to catch up to this man now half a block behind me. When I came within ten feet of him I said loudly something along these lines: “Hey. Excuse me.” He was not aware I was talking to him, but once he turned around to inspect this loud voice reverberating in his direction, he realized I was, indeed, talking to him. I repeated “Excuse me sir, I am a writer, and I think you are an interesting character. Do you mind if I talk to you?” He immediately agreed and began to offer intimate information such as what was in his bag, his life story, and his goals.

Here marked the beginning of a journey that, at the time I did not realize, would have no end. That night, we spent about four or five hours together, and during this time, I learned he was not exactly homeless but a traveler whose home is everywhere. When it came time for me to leave, I could not resist asking to do it again sometime. This time, I would spend days with him on the streets. Surprisingly then but quite expectedly in retrospect, he readily agreed and said “we can schedule something sometime.” I added him on Facebook, which would be our mode of communication, and messaged him about a month later. Yes, how he had access to Facebook baffled me, but this man is resourceful. Eventually, we arranged a sojourn that would last four days and four nights, and we planned to kick it off with a bang as we performed on open mic night at Notsuoh, a bar downtown.

Now, it is December, and again, we embark on another crazy journey. As the significance of our situation dawned on me, I decided to begin a blog posting my experiences and reflections. I apologize for the abrupt start to the blog’s story, but at least we started! I hope you enjoy reading about our experiences.as much as we enjoy living them.