Staying in One Place vs Being in Motion

SCHEME (1) You construct a shelter. Once done and completed you stay there you stay in one place. Your shelter can be a million dollar mansion or something as simple and inexpensive as a tent. The shelters, a mansion or a tent, differ in size and cost. But the people who live in them are basically living the same. They both leave their tent or their house then go places for varying amounts of time. Upon completing a task which draws them out of their house /tent they return. Evidence shows that both, the people who live in houses and those who live in tents, like to collect stuff. The people in houses fill up their garages and when there’s no longer space in the house or the garage they buy space at a storage facility. The people in tents because they have limited financial resources place the stuff they collect outside of their tent. Where it builds up and becomes an eyesore and objectionable to passers by. Because they don’t have the financial resources for storage.

SCHEME (2) You don’t construct a shelter you don’t stay in one place you stay in motion moving with the seasons.  The Mules fall under Scheme 2, using motion and energy to provide us what we need as we migrate with the season. Rather than building a shelter with the intention of staying in one place, The Mules bivouac for the night, most often less than 24 hours. Then we get up, pack up and stay in motion until the sun sets once again where we will bivouac for the coming night. The Mules tend not to collect stuff for it would create an unnecessary burden on our mules and ourselves and hamper our ability to stay in motion which is so essential to our survival and the nomadic way of life which we and many others practice.

Most counties in California in which the Mules travel through on a daily basis have passed no lodging laws.  California Penal Code 647(e) is a no lodging law, but it does not state the particular behaviors that the law is meant to prevent. Only using the word to “lodge” which is far too vague and unclear to enforce. 

 If the Mules and all others who practice this nomadic way of life on foot, bicycle, or pack mule, etc., are to be prosecuted using PC 647(e), those prosecuting us must prove that we are doing what this law was written, then passed, to prevent. Such as drug and alcohol abuse, violence, erecting tents and blocking sidewalks, etc. None of these behaviors are the mules guilty of. Obviously 647 (e) is not enforceable against the Mules.

The Mules

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There is a distinction between being Homeless and having a Nomadic Life

The United States Supreme Court will soon to make a decision whether to overturn Martin v. Boise, No. 15-35845 (9th Cir. 2018). Martin v. Boise says a person cannot be cited or arrested for sleeping on a public space when said person does not have “access to adequate temporary shelter.”

If Martin v. Boise is overturned the Mules will be subject to arrest and their property confiscated by any police officer that would find them resting for the night.

The Mules and their ages old nomadic way of life is about the art of moving and traveling under their own power and their own speed how they choose, when they choose. When we stop for the night in a vacant lot in a park or on the side of the road where there’s a very wide shoulder easement, the Mules stay is always less than 24 hours.

The Mules are a threat to nobody. We are quiet and peaceful. Our only purpose for stopping on public space is to rest for the night and then leave early in the morning and continue our journey and our life of motion. This country needs a Three Mule Journey. With rules and structure that will define its purpose and give every citizen the opportunity to step in and step up and make a contribution to the freedom of movement for us all. Using the unique spiritual energy that flows thur every soul.

In the past many people from all over the world have lived the nomadic way of life which the Mules live today. Some modern examples of nomads which the Mules have crossed paths include:

Davide Travelli and the 3 Mules [December 2015]

In December 2015, a gentleman that we met in California outside of Camp Pendleton named Davide Travelli, has traveled all over the world on his bicycle stopping for the night, pitching his tent, and gone in the morning. His journey still continues. You can see follow his endless journey on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Chen Guan Ming nomad
Chen Guan Ming nomad

Mr. Chen Guan Ming, the gentleman from China, rode his tricycle/ rickshaw all over the world, including California. Mr. Chen was honored and welcomed all over the world for the way that he lived. Peacefully, respectfully, in harmony and balance with all that surrounded him. When Mr. Chen was done traveling for the day, he pulled off the road and slept in his tricycle/rickshaw.

Across the pond, an 82-year old woman completed an annual seven-week trek from England to the Scottish Highlands with her pack pony and pet dog. Jane Dotchin has been making the epic 600-mile trek journey every year since 1972. Heading north, Jane and her pack travel between 15 to 20 miles a day and camps outside to rest for the night. Just like the Mules, she carries everything she needs including her tent, food, a few belongings.

Davide Travelli, Mr.Chen Guan Ming, Jane Dotchin, the Three Mule Journey, and all those others who practice this life of non-motorized motion, whether all their lives or a segment of their life, will be subject to arrest and property confiscation.

The Mules and the other nomadic travelers do we create the problem and mess that the homeless encampments show above in the photos. The nomadic way of life which we practice must be separated out from the issues homelessness creates. We pack up and leave no trace as we demonstrated in the photos and video below.

Homeless are people that lose the financial resources to afford housing, and construct shanty towns with no garbage pickup, no toilet facilities, and no water. In the law, there needs to be clear rules distinguishing Nomads from Homeless that cities find causing the blight.

Those of us who practice the art of traveling under our own power and own speed should not be arrested for stopping less than 24 hrs to spend the night. A necessary act of living. Sleeping is common to all humans and living creatures, including those who are passing these laws.

The mayors of Grants Pass, Sausalito, and San Francisco, who want to overturn Martin v. Boise, offer no solution to the shanty town/people being unhoused problem, nor do they care about the consequences of them overturning Martin v. Boise. They just want to cross their fingers and make a wish, “please bring back Disneyland for me and my friends.” The rest of you can go to jail.

A clear distinction needs to be made in any proposed law between what the mayors of Sausalito, Grants Pass, and San Francisco complain about homeless encampment shanty towns that remain in one location for months versus the nomadic traveler who stops to rest for the night, packing up, leaving no trace, and continuing their journey the next morning. Sleep is necessary for all living beings. It is inhumane and criminal for lawmakers to create laws which make it a crime for nomadic travelers to stop and rest after walking or cycling all day.

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