The spoken word can be not only be hurtful, but long-lasting. I actually learned that back in the early-1980s while working as a sports writer and desk man at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

While traveling to work one morning, I waited under the freeway for the light to turn green. I turned to my left and looked up under the freeway to see what looked like a sign of life. As my route remained continual every morning, I’d see more signs of life under the freeway.

First, there was a box and then there were clothes lying on the cement. Then, on one particular morning, I saw a man collecting his thoughts and wiping his face. I was stunned to finally realize that someone was living under the freeway.

When I got to the office, I visited with long-time reporter Ed Vogel before starting to clear the wire. As reporters do so often, we first exchanged pleasantries before I brought up the man living under I-15.

I arrived at the same location under the freeway the next morning to see Vogel at the bottom of a hill under the freeway. He had a card in his hand and was heading up the hill to meet with the mystery man whose makeshift home was under the freeway of one of America’s busiest roadways.

I was surprised to see Vogel and actually wanted to watch him climb that hill to meet with the man. However, I had to get to work considering that we had a 9 a.m. deadline to get the paper completed.

Vogel, considered the ultimate dedicated reporter, had taken our conversation to heart. What he found was a very intelligent man who was happy to be living under a freeway.

Vogel would discover that the man’s box contained books and the essentials of life to survive. After awakening in the early-morning hour, the man would gather his few belongings, walk to the freeway and hitch a ride to a shelter where he would shower and brush his teeth.

Later in the day, the man would find his way back to that spot under the freeway where he would climb that hill to his home on the ledge under the freeway. The next day, the man would walk back to the roadway where he’d find his way back to the shelter for a shower.

While Vogel’s findings were certainly interesting, what really stuck in my mind was the fact that the man said he had been told when he was young that he’d never amount to anything. That statement apparently hounded him especially because it was repeated to him over and over again.

The man was both intelligent and hurt beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Rather than go off the deep end by drinking himself to death, he simply led a very simple life where his belongings fit in a box.

Under the freeway, there was no threat of hurtful people only the noise of the traffic overhead. The cement ledge served as a perfect resting place.

No power bills and no having to report to work every day. For him, life was safer and easier living under a freeway where the roar of cars running overhead was less hassle than the hurtful words thrust at him over the years.

Living under a freeway was alright for someone who had been reminded repeatedly that he was a nobody. However, he was happy with his books, his lifestyle and the people he would meet en route to the shelter.

Talented Southern Nevada journalist Matt O’Brien detailed in his book “Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas” how countless lost souls live in underground flood channels throughout Las Vegas. His highly-acclaimed book illustrates that with all the success stories in Las Vegas, there is also an underbelly of shattered souls living in horrible environments.

What Vogel might have done decades ago is show that the problem of lost souls is nothing new. When his story was published, the authorities immediately headed for that area underneath I-15. The man was told to leave and I have often wondered what happened to him.

 I actually felt bad about the end result since the man wasn’t hurting anyone while living under the freeway. However, the authorities felt otherwise and wasted no time sending him down the road – literally.

 However, while Vogel’s story was truly interesting, I think what has remained in my mind for more than 30 years is that the guy living under the freeway was the victim of harsh words thrown his way. While the continual noise of living under a freeway had to be a challenge, the atmosphere was fine since it afforded the man a sanctuary away from hurtful people.

 In fact, when I’m at the same location under the freeway on Spring Mountain Road in Las Vegas, I always look up under the freeway thinking about the guy who called that spot home some 30 years ago.

Laura Emerson - May 18, 2010

Thanks for sharing that Mike! I love that story.