
The Mystery of the Millionaire Hermit - 80mph
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-04-27/the-mystery-of-the-millionaire-hermit
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Twirrim
There was a homeless person who was well known in my home town (not a town
that you'd typically find homeless people living in. In fact I think in the
couple of decades I lived there, he was the only one I ever saw). He never
seemed to beg, always politely refused any aid. He was so well known, people
had offered him beds for the night, but no. He liked being outside in the
fresh air.

Eventually he passed, and of course it was mentioned in the local newspaper,
along with the revelation that he was, in fact, wealthy. He just chose to live
that way.

~~~
duxup
There was a documentary about people who road freight trains illegally,
basically hopping on them as a means to of transportation for the poor, run
aways, etc.

Several people they interviewed did it even after they settled down. Something
just drew them to it. They seemed to love the adventure, seeing the country,
not knowing where they would end up or what they would see.

The randomness of the adventure sounded appealing.

~~~
rjbwork
Lots of punks in the crust and anarcho scenes do this kind of thing. I knew a
couple back in the day, and watch a former one and her husband on youtube.

To be honest I wish I'd done it in my youth. It's way too risky and the legal
consequences are dire. I know better now.

~~~
paulie_a
In your youth you had a lot more things ahead of you. If anything doing it
when you are older is probably better.

~~~
rjbwork
Society is more willing to forgive youthful indiscretions than adult flights
of fancy. And it takes a certain kind of youthful spryness and daring that
I've got less of an ability and appetite for as I've gotten a bit older.

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canada_dry
What infuriates me is the sleeze ball firms like Brandenburger & Davis who
aren't even satisified with extorting 30% of an estate from relatives, but
then also resort to illegal collusion.

Yah, let's keep reducing regulations so that these kind of scum bags can keep
doing their thing.

~~~
javert
A regulation is what entitles them to take the 30%.

And seriously, what do you think the percent should be? It's not that simple.

~~~
yitchelle
> It's not that simple.

The combination of money and family never make things simple. Not sure if you
watch the movie "Million dollar baby", the back story of the inheritance/power
of attorney in this movie really make me sad for our human race and our
behavior.

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ChuckMcM
I met someone like this once, he used to hang out under the overpass near the
Sunnyvale Caltrain station. He liked to joke that he had "Very strong opinions
about very unimportant things." He was often reading a book and I talked with
him about some of them. He lived the way he did because he felt that the human
body was made to be nomadic rather than sedentary. If you asked if he was
homeless he would say, "Nope, I live right here on this planet."

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jaden
> Brown didn’t have a bed, just a foam bedroll tucked into the corner of one
> bedroom and a military duffel containing an old uniform and medals.

I understand being frugal and admire it, but this level of frugality is harder
to understand. I would hope he was at least comfortable on his bedroll. Based
on what I could gather from the article, he seemed like a wonderful man.

~~~
DoreenMichele
FWIW, I have serious health issues and simply feel better sleeping on a wood
floor with a couple of blankets than in a bed.

I'm actually given a very hard time by a lot of people for being willing to
talk about such choices. So I think it is understandable that most frugal
people don't bother to try to justify it. Most of the world isn't interested
in understanding. They are only interested in treating people who aren't
"like" them as freaks so as to protect their right to live "normally."

~~~
newnewpdro
No health issues here, but have been sleeping on the floor since my teens and
now whenever I sleep on a bed or anything similarly compliant I wake up with
back pains.

The only time it's an issue is when it comes to dating, since practically
noone here (CA) wants to sleep on the floor and I have no interest in sleeping
on someone's bed.

The other benefit to using the floor is it preserves one's ability to get up
and down from the floor into old age. The Japanese got this right, and it's
actually had me considering learning Japanese and relocating there multiple
times. I presume the aforementioned dating issues would be far less of a
problem there.

~~~
wiml
Well, Japan differs from the ex-British Empire areas in many other ways in
addition to sleeping habits. Some might appeal to you but some might not. :)

I also like a really firm sleeping surface — I don't have any particular
health problems, I just feel stiff and sore if my bed is too soft — and right
now I sleep on a typical raised bed but with a very firm futon. It satisfies
me, and if my date doesn't especially like it, she at least perceives it as an
odd preference, rather than as a sign of poverty or despair.

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gwern
> The neighborhood mail carrier was the one who’d called the police. Every
> day, Brown would wait for her in a chair by his door, and the two would
> exchange pleasantries. But for the past five days, there’d been no sign of
> him. Police did a welfare check and discovered his body in a pool of dried
> blood by the toilet. Members of the coroner’s office who were dispatched to
> the house determined that he died of a stroke, but not before breaking his
> nose in a nasty fall.

Another example of how elder falling is responsible for an astounding amount
of morbidity & mortality.

~~~
BrandonMarc
Is it certain the stroke came before the fall? It may have caused the fall.

~~~
Aeolun
That’s how I read it. He had a stroke, fell, broke his nose, and then died of
the stroke.

The nose just sucks, but if you’re already having a stroke...

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bayareanative
I know this once homeless, childless, single, middle-aged guy who works as a
manager at a storage facility who has quite a portfolio but has all-but
retreated from society.

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jumbopapa
A bit upsetting that the Catholic Charities never got that money. Surely, they
could have done better with it than "a Cadillac and three or four
motorcycles."

