One day I woke up and realized that I was bored with me feeble high school existence. I needed a change of scenery. I decided that I want to experience the life of being a bum. I wanted to sleep under the bridge and in the streets and drink from a paper bag. I thought about it long and hard and I figured I would try it out for a week. So instead of getting ready for school I found a long, heavy coat and filled it with some small change. I said bye to my mom, she thought I was headed for school, and I walked out the door.

            I had a whole day to myself. I could do whatever I wanted to do. I started out by walking around town. I set out for Main Street which wasn’t that exciting. There was a bench on the sidewalk in front of a shop that I sat down at. I sat and watched the cars drive past and the people walk in and out of the shops. I thought a long while about life and the meaning of it but I couldn’t find a real meaning. I figured that was enough thinking for a while maybe I should try to beg for some money. I walked up to a trash can and found an empty cup. It had some left over coffee residue at the bottom but that didn’t matter. I don’t think real bums care too much if there is residue on the bottom of there money cup, they don’t even take showers. I walked back to the bench I was just sitting at and decided to stand on top of it. I held my little cup out as people walked past. I didn’t really know what to say in this situation so I began to shout “money for the poor.” I got a couple dirty looks and one man even said in a rude tone “Get a job you bum.” That made me laughs a little because I don’t really need a job I could just go home at anytime. I kept up with my ranting until a small elderly couple stopped in front of me.

            “How old are you young man,” they asked me a weak voice. I didn’t know what to say because I was a bum so I said the first number that popped into my head.

“37 and still getting older, ma’am,” I replied in a polite tone. I don’t think she believed me for she gave me an evil eye. She then reached into her purse and pulled out a small chain purse. It was a matching chain purse, which had this 1960’s floral pattern on them, which was odd. She pulled out a dollar bill and slipped it into my cup.

            “THANK YOU,” I shouted because I was so happy. I felt accomplished because I got paid for being a bum. It was a new feeling even though it was only a dollar. I gave the old women a big hug and ran off down the street to the next bench. I felt very excited because of my dollar I decided to see who else felt generous. A couple people dropped some pennies in they didn’t want and a couple dropped some quarters but no one else was willing to give up the green. I decided to give up and count my earnings. A whole two dollars and 75 cents, I know it wasn’t much but it made me feel accomplished.

            All that begging made me a little tired so I decided to try to sleep like a bum. I thought really hard, where do bums sleep? I remembered a time with my dad driving through Grand Rapids we saw a couple bums under the bridges over the city. There were a couple bridges in Greenville so I set out for the closest one. It happened to be over the flat river but it was a little dingy. I walked down Main Street towards the bridge. There is a set of stairs on one side leading down to the riverside. I climbed down the stairs slowly; they were kind of steep so I didn’t want to walk to fast and fall. Once I got to the bottom I headed for the underneath of the bridge. It had tall, square pillars that held the bridge up and a rocky slope that made the shape of the side of the river. I climbed to the top of the slope and there was a ledge at the top, right underneath the bridge. The cars were loud as they buzzed past but I figured I would have to get use to this. I took off my coat and placed it on the dirty concert. I curled up and flipped the remaining bit of coat over top of me to stay warm. The concert was hard and it was a little cold under the bridge. At first I didn’t think I would fall asleep. I lay under the bridge and thought about what I was doing. It was odd how I ended up here. Then my mom flashed into my head. I wonder what she is doing right now. I wondered if she had realized I didn’t go to school. What happens when she does do you think she will cry? Thinking about my mom crying made me a little sad. I felt something touching my leg and looked down to see a snake wiggling over my exposed ankles.

            That was it, I had enough of being a bum and I decided that it wasn’t the life for me. I jumped up and ran as fast as I could. I didn’t know where I was going I just ran. I thought that being a bum was hard and I didn’t like snakes too much and being a bum didn’t pay you enough. When my stomach started to hurt I slowed down and began breathing really hard. The air was sharp, cold and painfully. I looked around and realized I was in my neighborhood. Around the block was my home where my nice warm bed was. There was a fridge full of food and best of all there was no snakes at all. These thought made me happy. I ran as fast I could to my house. There was my moms truck in the drive way and my dogs were in the window. They started to bark and get all excited at the sight of me walking around the corner.

            I got to the door and pushed it open and there was my mother sitting on the couch reading a book. I ran up to her and gave her a big hug and said I was sorry for wanting to be a bum. She asked why I wasn’t in school today and I told her that I wanted chicken and macaroni and cheese for dinner and that I had a long day learning about life and why people need to go to school. She looked at me with a serious look.

            “GET YOUR BUTT TO SCHOOL NOW,” was all she said.