MISSOULA - Gerald is 74 years old and enjoys the simple things in life.
“Yeah, like Lynyrd Skynyrd said, ‘be a simple man’,” Gerald said.
A few of his favorites are being alone in nature, reading, listening to Rock & Roll, and fixing up motorcycles.
He told MTN that motorcycles are like companions to him.
Gerald came to Montana in the 80s to attend college at the University of Montana.
He laughed as he told MTN that Missoula has only gotten weirder over the years and the 'Keep Missoula Weird' bumper stickers are pretty accurate.
He worked his entire life, doing many different jobs including working on an oil rig and making egress windows.
One day, Gerald was told that he would soon be looking for a new place to live. Since then, life has looked a bit different for him as he has spent the last year without a permanent home.
Now, his life is focused on working to survive, “That’s all I wanna do. I just wanna live until I’m dead."
A friend offered Gerald a place to live in an RV for a while. “I stayed there and I was just living off of Social Security. And...I couldn’t keep up with the repairs on this old RV.”
After what Gerald deems his “RV debacle” he came back to Missoula and got a job at a grocery store.
“I just move carts around in a parking lot, he said adding that he enjoys the job because he gets to be outside and met various people.
Gerald says that his day-to-day consisted of three things, “I’d work, sleep, make a sandwich.”
This past winter, Gerald was living in the cab of his truck.
“I’d roll out a sleeping bag and because my truck’s got a hump in the middle, try to find a place to put my hips. Put a head on the armrest and my feet on the other one. I’d eat and I’d turn on the radio. And then I’d just wait until I started drifting off.”
But lately, Gerald has been in a motel.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate a bed. You know I can turn over. Yeah that turning over was quite a chore in a sleeping bag. It does a lot for self-esteem to be able to find a toilet when you need one and to take a shower.”
He’s working with the Housing Advocacy Network to find a permanent place to live.
“I’m not used to this $1,000 apartment stuff. It can get very discouraging because I was getting nowhere by myself," Gerald explained.
He's maintained a positive attitude as he tries to save up money and he is hopeful for the future.
“Oh yeah, things are gonna get better. You know, I’m going down in the numbers on the waiting lists.”
Many people, neighbors of ours, are unhoused in Missoula.
To those who think being unhoused is a choice — or judge people without a home — Gerald says, “It could happen to you. You never know when the carpet’s going to be pulled out from underneath you.”
