37 Comments
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Dian Parker's avatar

This is a heartbreaking and maddening tale of the stupidity of society and the unbreakable and beautiful will of the true individual. Thank you for this.

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Corey Smith's avatar

I don't live far from Dave. I can see the Merrimack from my windows. I remember when he was arrested and his cabin burned down. His story is infuriating. It’s nice to see it covered here, to see other people are paying attention. Thank you.

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David M. Poff's avatar

I love this! If only the world was big enough for each of us to get our own space and be left alone to live peaceably and comfortably in it

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Mr. Raven's avatar

It's is if you are willing to give up shiny baubles like a new car every few years, and home automation blah, blah, there are many areas of the country if you are in the U.S. with very cheap rural land. If you wait for everyone to be saved like the collectivists do, you will never save yourself, then we all die immiserated, what good is that?

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David M. Poff's avatar

I gave up all that stuff years ago. I don't know if you have checked lately, but"cheap land" isn't easy to come by anymore, and the cost of a modern Homestead with all the trappings is all but out of reach for most people. A few of us, myself included, can live in a 12x12 shack with a dug toilet and access to clean water, but the bulk of humanity is long past being able to survive, and here's this old guy who's been doing it for decades- that is what I'm commenting about here,

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Mr. Raven's avatar

You'd be wrong though, I got an acre of land with a very solid well insulated 2 bedroom cottage, a submersible pump well with great water pressure for 29K. Admittedly my house and land has probably almost tripled in value in 5 years as people have started moving up here during and after Covid. But there is cheap land all over the country in places like Iowa, Akransas, the northern Great Lakes States, Alabama, Appalachia, etc. And no it doesn't have to be as dire as you paint it. I do have indoor plumbing, wireless broadband, even a big screen TV I use as a monitor to watch youtube, though I find myself doing that less and less, mainly watching Jimmy Dore, and Redacted, lol.

Anyway the point is if you are willing to live more than an hours drive from an urban area cheap land still does exist. Get it while you still can...it won't lose value even as an investment, if you want to look at land that way.

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David M. Poff's avatar

Fair and wise points :)

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SCL's avatar

Guess it is why so many folks are sailing away to own their little piece of the seven seas. Why take another person's land?

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Mr. Raven's avatar

I don't even know what this means. Can you restate it with more clarity please, thank you.

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Alix's avatar

oh I thank you so much for this

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Ellen Lord's avatar

"The womb of the natural world".....yes. Well done Erik. Very well...This story flares the homicidal inklings in me.....but I go for a walk and sweat my prayers.....why are we so unkind to each other?

Cruelty is born from unkindness. Write On!

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Su Terry's avatar

I've heard similar stories about other hermits. It's really a universal story, as all good stories are. The struggle of good people who come to the hermit's aid in the fight against the authoritarians is destined to be reenacted many times in the coming months and years.

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Maha's avatar

Stop the world! I want to get off!!!

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Mr. Raven's avatar

Fantastic. I walked away 5 years ago and live in a winter retrofitted cottage alone with my dog in a county with no traffic lights and many bears. I still have gadgets and internet though, so I have not reached saint like transcendence like River Dave, but my beard does get longer every day, lol. In the long run I believe the wisdom of the grey beards will triumph over the technocratic hubris of the blue haired transhumanists.

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Joanne Mitchinson's avatar

Heart warming, who does not want to have that sensation of being harmonious in nature, all of it, humans included. 💚

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Victoria Lynn Hall's avatar

What a powerful threat a man living happily in tune with nature is to the so-called powerful people who exploit both man and nature just so they can be miserable, selfish human beings.

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Lisa B. Martin    zihuawriter's avatar

How is the Go Fund Me going, and how can I contribute? And spread the story? Huge advocate of cabin living and such determined independence close to nature. Writer, Lisa at lisabmartin006@gmail.com

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Patris's avatar

What a condemnation of that community. That his home wasn’t preserved seems outrageous to me. You’d think he’d be revered not harassed.

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Patrick J Foster's avatar

A child of God, beautiful ❤️

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Suzi Blalock's avatar

They couldn't just leave him be. My chest tightened as I read this heart wrenching story, beautifully

rendered. The quotes chosen put a fine point on the piece. "In the presence of nature a wild delight

runs thru the man, in spite of real sorrows." Thank you.

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Pamela Leavey's avatar

Thanks for sharing this story. I remember when this happened. I live down river at the mouth of the Merrimack. Way back in the 60's there was a hermit who lived at the southern end of Plum Island for many, many years. He was eventually forced to move as well.

It is good to know that so many people stepped up and helped him. I was curious about what happened to him and found an article in the Boston Herald dated 8/20/22 - https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/08/20/new-hampshire-hermit-river-dave-banned-from-long-time-home-moves-to-maine/

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mahesh pherwani's avatar

Thank you kindly for the link. 🙃🧘

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Carolyn Parker's avatar

Said landowner could have been a bit more helpful. He better watch HIS ankles.

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mahesh pherwani's avatar

Har har 🫂🧘

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