Must-See Documentary: "Dark Days."

Ken Cook told me about this documentary that he really enjoyed and thought that I would find quite interesting and perhaps valuable. So, after viewing it, I was pretty jazzed about it! He knows me very well. So, thank you for telling me about this neat little documentary Ken!

That documentary is Marc Singer's incredible film, "Dark Days." From the very start, one of the residents of the tunnel speaks...

"When I first came down in the tunnel it was lookin' dangerous man. Lookin' real dangerous. Even in the daytime it was dark. And...like...I was scared.

I said, somewhere down the line, it can't be as bad as it is up top. Because out in the street you had kids fuckin' with ya. You had the police fuckin' with ya. I mean, anybody could walk by you while you were sleepin' on the bench and bust you in the head. At least down in the tunnel you didn't have to worry 'bout that. 'Cause ain't nobody in their right mind gonna come down there..."

One of the people living down in the tunnel estimated that 80% of the people living down there were addicted to drugs, mostly crack, and that is how they ended up down there. I guess if you added moderate to severe mental health issues, that would account for most of the remaining 20%.

Another thing that is interesting about this ten year old film is the fact that there was a very real reluctance, a vocal resistance, towards going to a homeless shelter. Just last week I was speaking to a homeless man and he said the same thing. Other homeless people I have encountered and spoke with all say the same thing, the homeless shelters might save you from a very cold night, but the junkies and thieves will steal anything from you that they can.

In that opening narrative in "Dark Days," you see a logic to the man's point of view. If you are homeless and your are being assaulted by people or being hassled constantly by both regular people and the police, a subterranean shelter would be much more safe and secure. Especially when you can build yourself a "house" down in the tunnel like these crafty homeless men and women did.

My survival interests are intensely focused on the North American continent. It is unlikely that I will ever have to survive in the arctic, a desert or jungle. I have minor interests in those areas but my main focus is on the woodlands, mountains and suburban and urban areas of the Continental United States.

I highly recommend you see this film. You won't soon forget it if you do.