Scouts May Evict Hermit
jay.thal (jay.thal@TCS.WAP.ORG)
Tue, 29 Dec 1998 20:27:44 -0500
Well, that was not exactly the headline - but it could have been.
Today's (12/29/98) Washington Post, page A3, had a half page article by
Pamela Ferdinand.
Seems like a deer hunter on Nantucket Island, off of Cape Cod, MA,
stumbled on a stovepipe sticking out of the ground and went on to
discover the three room retreat of Thomas Johnson hidden underground.
I seems that Johnson had been living there for ten years. His cedar
paneled rooms were well appointed, though small, and included a rock
floor, queen sized bed that pulls down from the ceiling, bureau,
porta-potty. Light and ventilation came in through several transom
windows. The whole thing was insulated and kept dry by a rubber
membrane covered by topsoil and sand.
It cost $150 to build and took five weeks. It does lack running water,
electricity, and gas. Johnson cooks on a hibachi and showers in the
kitchen using a plastic tube attached to a water jug.
Johnson's home is under some land owned by the Boy Scouts who are
seeking to evict him. Local health code violations are also at issue.
Johnson works as a carpenter, and the reporter postulates that his
"outdoor skills could easily merit an Eagle Scout badge."
Truth is stranger than fiction.... ;-)
YIS
Jay Thal
