If I Were a Hermit . . .

I want to go live alone in a treehouse. who's with me I'm Christa from. Birmingham Alabama let's talk about. [Music]. [Applause]. that good mythical morning today's. episode is brought to you by Blue. microphones the microphones that power. our music and this show Good Mythical. Morning well they don't power they pick. up the vocals and instrumentation that's. power thanks for joining us today uh I I.

like to think that what we do here. enriches your life and if it doesn't. don't tell me I think a great movie is a. one that you not only enjoy when you're. watching it but when you reflect upon it. later it gets better I hope that when. people reflect upon the conversations. that that we engender here that your. thoughts about them continue to. Blossom I'll be over here if you.

nameing you want to talk about something. else you you feel like leaving on a good. note that's good for me to leave there. so you thought that was good. yeah what do you have for us there is a. man you may have heard about this it was. it's been in the news several times. before because he's been doing this for. quite some time but it came back in the. news recently because there's a book. that's being written about him actual. biography his name is David suo or Soo I. think a good book is one that you enjoy. when you never mind uh it's called the.

man who quit money this is about a guy. who 12 years ago let me guess he quit. money he quit money in the year 2000 I. was going to say 20 something. 20 he took his only $30 that's all the. money he had in his name to his name and. he put it in a phone booth and he said I. quit money I do not want to be dependent. on the financial system at all and he. went and he lived in a cave he still. lives there a cave outside of Moab Utah. I'm going to look for that $30 it's. probably gone it was in a phone home.

Booth 12 years ago oh and uh he has. sworn off money now I want that money. he's Liv he's living a very simple life. and he's basically saying and we're not. going to get into all the you know. philosophical ins out debate about this. but essentially the guy says money. you're a slave to money you know you. either have credit or you're in debt but. you're basically a slave to it and he. want to know part of it and he's off the. grid now and he only lives off of like. Scavenging what he can get for free he.

might go down into town and get. something out of a dumpster he might be. accept a. gift oh it depends on what you mean by. homeless he does not have a home other. than a cave on public land well that's a. home he's so he lives in he's a cave. dweller he yeah okay uh so. anyway I what intrigues me about this. guy isn't necessarily the fact that he. has sworn off the financial system as we. know it it is the fact that he lives. alone he's hertiz himself because this.

is this is something that I have been. personally fascinated with for a long. time ever since I Read My Side of the. Mountain my favorite book from childhood. which incidentally my son just finished. reading recently the kid he lives in a. tree he gives up money does he give up. money I don't think it has anything to. do with money this is like a children's. book well he doesn't live up in the tree. though he lives in a hole it's a. hollowed out tree right yeah and he just. makes he he figures out how to make. things and he lives off the land and he.

spends I don't know how long he spends. there but I was always fascinated with. it and then years later as an adult I. saw this documentary about this guy who. goes up to Alaska this one guy goes up. to Alaska with some supplies and he. builds a cottage and he spends like a. year up there completely isolated and. then he documents it and makes a film. that's just like this 1960s film they. run it on PBS sometimes and then it's. just a he just gives narration there's. no music or anything just narration over. the top of it it's it's all so. fascinating now I'm a married man with.

children I'm not in a position nor do I. want to be in a position at this point. in my life to go off and be a Hermit. because now I have a family that I. really enjoy spending time with there's. nothing you need to run from here but my. personality and a lot of people think. that I'm an extrovert not true I'm an. introvert I love being alone and I could. totally see myself living in a cave in. Utah what about you L I'd like to see. you do that too I am I an introvert or. an extrovert I honestly I I don't know.

it's kind of hard to pin me down I don't. don't pin me down not trying to sorry. don't don't do the I'm dead on me. conceptually uh but would I what do I. have a proclivity to do that I like the. idea of being alone but in practice it. never works out for me now if I think. about it I could probably list on one. hand I've probably had less than five. instances where I've been alone more. than one.

night and I could probably list on two. hands the times that I've been alone for. two nights like if christe would take. the kids you know to do something that. for some reason I can't go because of. work or whatever I'll spend the night at. home alone but I mean you know I live. with my f I live with my mom growing up. and then I went off to college and I had. a I had a roommate and then right after. college I got married yeah that it was. never a time that me nor you sir have.

lived by yourself I briefly lived in a. tree one summer as a child did I not. tell you this is before we knew each. bottom yeah and there was a book written. about you yeah it's called My Side of. the Mountain okay it's a popular. children's book but. but I if I go away like I took a trip to. Nashville by myself for a week but I. stayed with a friend so at night I. wasn't I was sleeping on the floor and. his bedroom whatever but during the day. I was alone I didn't know anybody in. town I went to the Country Music Hall of. Fame Museum all by myself it's weird and.

I was I found myself being compelled to. speak to people yeah hey I'm alone by. I'm by myself for the day can can I be. your friend for a couple of minutes well. I guess that's what I was. communicating uh cerebrally let's go. look at the ly love it sculpture. together but I I found that it's not all. as cracked up to be I I can't go more. than a few hours without um you know I. just don't like it's kind of scary it's. a scary thought again you like the idea. I have no plans to do this Jesse honey I.

know you're watching this you watch like. every third episode of Good Mythical. Morning so this is my wife I'm talking. to for those of you who don't know I'm. talking to I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to go be alone for a year. or whatever right maybe you know if I. outlive you and I'm like 80 years old. I'll go live in a tree or something like. that but this this is just all. theoretical I definitely just the the. makeup of my person I when I watched one. of my favorite movies is Cast Away not. because it's the most incredible movie.

ever or anything like that it's it's. it's not it's an it's it's kind of an. achievement you want to be stranded on. an island the scene where all of a. sudden he transitions from having been. there for a couple of days to where all. of a sudden it cuts to the scene where. he's fishing and then it pulls back and. it shows him and his skin has turned. leathery Brown and his his hair and face. his hair and his beard have just gotten. crazy big when I see that I wish that. could be. me I I would you don't understand when I.

see that what I would love to he went. crazy his best friend was a volleyball. yeah I would love to just be somewhere. isolated in fact the most the the kind. of thing I would like to live in is a. treehouse there's these people in Papa. guini the corai people who live in tree. houses that are like hundreds of feet. above the by yourself you want to live. in a treehouse hundreds of feet in the. air like this group of people by but why. by yourself because I want to grow my.

beard out as big as it possibly you. don't have to be by yourself to grow. your beard out but when but when you're. by yourself and you just let go of what. people think about you okay I want. because my hair would get so big and. then it would start you want to do it as. a fashion no no you're not letting me. finish I want to tell you everything. that's going to happen when I go spend. this time alone my hair is going to get. very big and then it's going to start. bending down it's going to be very bushy. you're still talking about your hair. leaves and twigs in it and then it's. going to turn blonde because that's what. happens when you spend a lot of time. outside and what's your skin going to.

look like my skin is going to turn red. so I'll be like this red man with blonde. hair beard like a like this and then I'm. going to just what are your teeth going. to look like they're going to all fall. out I don't care about that what are you. going to smell I mean hush now I'm. getting to what I'm going to. do I'm going to. think if you sent me into a treehouse in. Papa New Guinea by myself for 10 years. and I turned just this golden we know. what you look like with the big hair. and I.

thought if I just had unfettered. thinking in my brain with no external. influences I'd have to come and talk to. you and run ideas by you or anything I. just had to think and I was isolated for. a decade when I came down from that. Treehouse and I came back to Western. civilization I would make a killing on. the speaking circuit I would just come. back and I would just give seminars on. all the things that I thought about so. ironically you're going to you're going. to do it for the fashion and for the. money what after a decade I'm tired of.

it you you know I mean this guy's. selling a book too is his friend the. author making all the money yeah he he. doesn't he doesn't take money but that. but can you imagine that like we do. everything that we're going you think. you're going to come up with ideas in a. treehouse yeah see you think that but it. doesn't happen I spent I spent a few. hours alone in a country music museum. and I didn't come up with anything. you're in the wrong place and you don't. you're not committed what you it sounds. like you want to be a temporary Monk.

work which is not I think they give you. a trial period of a year like a vow of. silence before they make you take a vow. I'm going to talk to myself the whole. time and maybe like a some inanimate. object whatever I can find iname you. think you're going to be smarter and. have marketable thoughts when you come. out of this I know I would you're going. to be talking to a volleyball I mean. you're going to be crazy they would be I. know I would be crazy he's back you're. already crazy he's back and look at him. he looks so different and he smells. different and he's got these incredible.

ideas and his skin ask him about his. skin and his teeth he'll talk you're not. taking you're not taking me seriously. well give me an idea that you'd have I. mean do you have an example a framework. of an idea no I need unfettered thought. if I'm an in I would be an investor in. this letting you go away for a year you. have to kind of pitch me on these are. the type of problems I'm going to solve. I need 10 years 10 years okay well I. need some I need some assurances that. you're going to come up with you know. cure for cancer you know type situation.

you going to I'm not I'm not doing any. kind of research I'm develop a. philosophy it's not legitimate man you. just wait give you give me the. opportunity what would you do do you. have a proclivity towards isolation and. what do you do to apply that proclivity. in other. words would you like to be alone and if. so. why I hope you have better reasons than. this guy I think the people you.

understand what I'm saying do you. understand where I'm coming from what. you're saying is it would be cool I. would love to have a treehouse but I. would love to invite people over to. experience it with and I'm not saying. that I want to have people over all the. time knights fighting a. dragon Sir. Charles Yonder sits large red dragon yes. sir R I looked like you as if you had. gone away for 10 years I had the. privilege of slaying The Last Dragon I. give you the honors of slaying this one.

no but you have you have more practice. to gain yet still so Harden your skin. like porkin and beat its Dragon I insist. that you take the first swipe look he's. just sitting there like a little it's a. youthful Dragon he's waiting for you. to that's my way of saying that he hit. us with fire and we died. oh.

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