Livin’ On the Edge

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Livin’ On the Edge

There was less than a foot between life and death and it was all because they were trying to cheat the system. This is what I learned from two fellow college students I met while waiting in line for my hot chocolate at Late for the Train. Good thing there was a long line because they had quite the story to tell. What I got out of their story is that some people choose to live on the edge to get more fulfillment out of life, but many times that extra fulfillment just isn’t worth it.

Two young college students were going home for Christmas break to visit their families in St. Louis, Illinois. Dan is a guy who spends so much time in the outdoors that the critters know him by name. He lives in the back of his pick-up unless it is so cold that his drool freezes down the side of his face. In that case he finds a friend who will let him roll out his camping pad and crash on the floor, and if he is lucky they will let him use the shower. Dan’s shoulder length hair is so curly that it looks as if he got a perm but left the curling rods in for an extra day. You could probably call him a “hippy” even though he would never refer to himself as one. Dan told me most of their story while Matt stood there and nodded every once in awhile.

Matt seemed more laidback than Dan and didn’t seem to have a care in the world. He’d like to let himself think that he is adventurous, but in reality his biggest adventure is finding a gas station that’s open at 3:00am so he can pick up a bag of Cheetos. Dan and Matt decided to be adventurous so they planned to drive from Flagstaff, AZ up through Utah, and then make their way towards Illinois. They would stay in the back of Dan’s white Toyota Tacoma because he was blessed with the luxury of having a topper. This topper allowed Dan to create a home in the back of his pick-up filled with sleeping bags, a camping pad, hiking gear, dirty clothes, and old garbage from McDonald’s. Dan seemed to be very proud of his topper, because he even gave me a tour of it as I left the coffee shop.

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