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Page 32 text:
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Robert Noriega really lives out — in a used Corvair van. He considers living in a house a luxury. Living Out Keeps the Tigers and Gorillas Away The fight to be your own person while attending a university can be a real hassle. Robert Noriega (he calls himself Roman) retains his individualism by living in a small van instead of a house or an apartment. (He also retains more of his money.) His story is worth sharing. ONCE THERE was a man trapped in a long narrow corridor. The exit at one end was blocked by a man-eating tiger and the other exit was blocked by a blood- crazed gorilla. The two animals saw the man and charged with homicidal intent. The man seemed to have two choices, getting mauled by the tiger or being pulled apart by the gorilla. Acting fast, since he did not like either choice, he braced his back against one wall and his feet against the other and climbed out of the way. While the ani- mals were fighting he escaped out of one exit. With other students going to a commuter-college, I was faced with a decision, to live with a relative or to get an apartment. Neither of the choices appealed to me. The trivial questioning about activities, friends, hours, etc, that I get when living at home upset me. On the other hand the expense ($30-100 de- pending on your style of life) the many rules and regulations of landlords and the difficulty of finding a location that is convenient is another consideration. Having experienced the difficulties connected with both choices, I have found a third choice. Last summer I bought a used Corvair van. Slowly and inexpensively, with scrap wood, card- board, cloth, and odds and ends I have fixed it up for living. It is not large, but it will serve for studying, sleeping, some cooking, and other limited activities. Most of my acquaintances know what I am doing and have asked me why. There is no simple reason; in fact I don't know all of the answer myself. I have never liked anyone telling me what to do, but it turned from a general dislike to an almost pathological hatred in the army. I used to see red when an incompetent, bigoted, conceited, stupid sergeant ordered me to do something. The only reason that he kept on ordering me around instead of me sending him to the hospital is that the law will squash me if I say anything except Yes, sergeant. 30
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Page 33 text:
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It is a mistake to confuse a luxury with a necessity.' The biggest goal of my entire tour was to be in a position to say: Get bent, you mother! and get away with it. So the army is the major cause of my dropping out of the two normal choices for a person in my circumstance. I am trying this life style in the interest of living my life according to my decisions. If I live with my relatives, I can't come home at 3 a.m. singing a ribald song, make a bowl of soup, and go to sleep on the couch. I am not saying that I need to do this, but I need to be able to have the option to do it. Then there are the questions and answers. I realize parental interrogation is stemmed from a basic concern about me; it's still irritating. If I were living in an apartment there would be rules and regulations. De- pending on the landlord, it might be: no alcohol, or no visitors after a certain time, or no visitors of the opposite sex. The most severe rule that I have actually experienced is a lockout time. One land- lord established a time you had to be in or he locked the door. I spent a couple of nights sleeping on the lawn because I was locked out. Another aspect of this choice is the fact that my financial needs are close to minimum. I am a single person, with no dependents, taking a full-time class load and as such, I collect $175 a month under the G.l. Bill. A married veteran collects $205 a month or $230 if there is a child ($ 1 3 for each additional child). To get these maxi- mum amounts the veteran must be a full-time student. Any one with dependents or a wife would have more problems, if indeed they could live in a van. But, a single person can do it if he wants. My food bill is the same because I can cook simple items such as soup, canned vegetables, and make sandwiches. That is about the only cooking I do anywhere. My other expenses are the same as normal living except for rent (for obvious rea- sons). An average day goes something like this. Alarm rings at 7, light a candle, get dressed, go to school where I clean up, then I go down to the Student Center until class. After my day classes I go to the gym and take a shower. If I have time, I sit in the sauna for a while. Then I go to work. After work, if there is a social function to attend, I change into appropriate attire, otherwise I go back to school to study. When I get ready to go to sleep I stop in a filling station and clean up, then I go to where I park, crawl in bed, light a candle, read for a while and go to sleep. It's not a super-exciting life but it is one I will be living for a while. 1 know that this winter it will get pretty cold. My friends have wondered how I will keep from freezing. I have not experienced this exact problem, but from my army service and other outdoor encounters I have acquired a point of view and a few practical details. I feel it is a mistake to confuse a necessity with a luxury. To be able to maintain a livable temperature (40°-90°) is a necessity, but to maintain an entire house at 70° is a luxury. Body heat refelcted from a sheet and blanket, if the wind is blocked, will provide all the warmth a person needs down to a temperature of about zero. A bathroom or some sanitary facility is a necessity, but having it down the hall is a luxury. A nearby filling station will do. Telephones, electric lights, air con- ditioning, all of these are luxuries — very desirable of course — but luxuries never- theless. This is the price that I am paying for the decision to live my life the way I want. I feel it's a minor price. The only problem I am facing is where to park. If I park in an empty parking lot or in an unfriendly residential area I think there is a good chance I will run into some trouble with the police. I have had many offers to use drive- ways and the streets in front of people's homes, so some of my worry is probably unnecessary. This whole project has been very interesting, and I don't anticipate any big problems in the future. I attach no permanance to this way of living, but I hope to gain a wider range of experiences in pursuit of controlling my own destiny. • Robert Noriega 31
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