Greetings,
My name is Michael Piper and I’m 71 with grandkids.
I live aboard a sailboat at a dock in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I do so as it structurally limits any susceptibility to the rampant consumerism that pervades our domestication. I also love feeling a part of nature, and the daily tides reinforce that notion.
After being exposed to Diet for a Small Planet back in the early 70’s (thanks Maggie and Sunshine) I stopped purchasing (and therefore eating) meat products. I became active in the Co-Operative movement and was on the founding board of La Montanita Co-Op in New Mexico.
I’ve developed an early affinity for psychedelics, cannabis in particular. While living on the street, connections came easy and that’s how I supported myself for many years. At one point, after an arrest, I became a client of the NM Division of Vocational Rehab. I learned how to solder and do lapidary work. Upon graduation received a full set of tools, and I did make some money that way, but I always found it difficult to price work, and to put original designs out there and have people offer much less than even the materials were worth could be very discouraging. I felt I needed an agent. I still enjoy dreaming of designs in metal and stone, and hold a deep appreciation for what it is to take rocks from the Earth and turn them into beautiful, and meaningful objects.
I worked other jobs, while dealing, and attended the University of New Mexico. Twice. The first time was for 2 years and all I did was rack up debt. I hardly attended classes as school was more of a social event for me. I worked in the Student Union as an Information Officer. I like that kind of work. I enjoy keeping up on what and where everything is. Have always been that sort of person. I know where the bathroom and exits are in a place before I get comfortable. I was living with Jessie, the woman who would become the mother of our children. She worked as a waitress, and we’d been together for a couple of years at this point.