Author’s Note: First, a little history about Mike: Mike and I talked for about an hour while he ate his dinner of a single hamburger and refusing an offer from me to buy him a drink. He is very independent and accepts no handouts from any one. He just lives off the money he gets from selling what he can find along the roadside.

I guess you could say it was fate that we met. For about 5 years I saw him pulling a wagon along the road side picking up aluminum cans, but I never really gave him a second thought. It was probably because I assumed he lived in a house somewhere close by. How wrong I was!

Mike is homeless and 48 with a long beard and hair his face very weathered. He wears an old Army Jacket to keep him warm. His parents have long passed his brother and sister has disowned him and was married for a short time. He lives in a dome tent covered with plastic to keep out the rain. His home is located off an old dirt road kind of hidden back in the woods.

Now when I see him walking along the side of the road I honk and we wave. When we get a bag full of cans I leave them anonymously along the side of the road for him.