Hello from Anarchapulco,
Long time no talk! I've been mentioning over the past few months how I was going to make some changes in my life, try to be healthier, smell the roses a bit more and get into better physical, mental and spiritual health for a variety of reasons… not least of which is that I am preparing for the final days of The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI) and know it will take great energy and acuity to get through what I believe will be a biblical level paradigm shift as violent, thieving states go through their death throws, currencies collapse and chaos ensues. And, hopefully, after all the chaos subsides anarchy ensues, people transact in bitcoin, the initiation of violence and theft (aka. governments and central banks) are seen as the ultimate sins and we enter into the most peaceful and prosperous time in human history. Or it will all just be a shit show so I am trying to enjoy life a bit more now in case it gets even worse for the foreseeable future.
However, your average person would laugh at what I consider to be "taking it a bit more easy". I still work from the moment I awaken until the time I go to sleep, seven days per week, travel constantly on business and to freedom/bitcoin related conferences and am still generally exhausted.
But, during times like the weekend when I would normally write "The Weekend Vigilante" I have opted out (sans the TSA patdown) for the last few weeks choosing to spend some time with the beautiful wife, anarkids and five anarchodogs or some quiet time reading (still work!) or just sitting outdoors on a patio in, in just the last few weeks, Washington DC (Bitcoin in the Beltway), Lancaster NH (Porcfest), Miami FL, Mexico City and Acapulco, pondering life, love and, of course, business.
It's been an eventful and fun few weeks nonetheless. I was voted in some totally arbitrary poll as one of the 20 "hottest libertarian men alive". That got me quite a bit of good natured ribbing from friends… plus about 200 "friend requests" from women I don't know on Facebook.
I decided to have some fun with it though, posting this image:
On that note, I've had some great conversations with some morally sound people (aka. anarchists) on this weird strain of modern man-hating feminism going around. This talk with Cathy Reisenwitz was insightful but my favorite was the following with "That Guy T".
That Guy T is a great example of the young anarchist people blossoming everywhere. He actually came to anarchism from watching zombie movies! That alone is worth hearing the story!
Probably the most interesting thing that I've been experiencing over the last few weeks is how many times I've been recognized in all manner of different places.
Before leaving to Washington my wife's friend came over to my casa with her daughter and her boyfriend (who was about 18). His jaw dropped and he stammered. I just thought maybe he was retarded or something. He shook my hand all shakily and then pulled his girlfriend aside to say something and she looked at me like I was a ghost. I didn't think anything of it until later my wife told me, "You know that young boy who was here earlier? He was in shock."
"Why?" I asked.
"Him and his friends are some of your biggest fans," her friend had told her. "He had no idea he was coming to your house."
I would have found that very strange but it seems half of Acapulco knows about me. I can't walk down the street without someone shouting out, "Oy-yay, dollar ve-hee-lan-tay!"
I was even recognized by an American in a bank in Acapulco a few weeks ago who told me he has been following me for years and couldn't believe he bumped into me.
All that makes some sense though. This is a small town and everybody talks about everybody. And, I think our anarchist charity work during the floods last year where we saved an entire village from contributions from anarchists in bitcoin has not been forgotten.
But then I was in New Hampshire and got totally lost driving to Porcfest (I couldn't find myself out of my own neighborhood without GPS) and I walked into a little convenience store in the middle of nowhere to ask for directions.
"Holy shit! Jeff Berwick!" one guy said.
"Guys, get out here," he called to everyone in the back and they all came out and took photos with me. Right before I left they told me to come behind one of the displays to see something.
I didn't take a picture of it… but a good friend also happened to randomly walk into that same store later that week and saw what was there and took a photo and sent it to me.
Russell Brand sort of sullied it all but I was happy to be in company with a great, famous anarchist, Woody Harrelson.
Then I finally found Porcfest and one of the items on offer was this:
It's a take-off on "Jif" peanut butter someone named "Jef" and is a photo of anarchist stalwart Jeffrey Tucker and I. I am having my trademark lawyer look into suing whoever made this, of course.
Alright, I was in New Hampshire, a place with more anarchists per square mile than any other place in the US so these things weren't totally surprising.
But, then two days later I went to Miami to a nice restaurant and was waiting in the bar area for my friends to arrive when one of the hostesess's walked up, "Can I get you anything sir?"
She didn't look like a waitress and I had been waiting for one so I asked, "Oh, I can order something from you?"
She winked and said, "Anything you want, dollar vigilante," and walked off.
I really couldn't believe it. It almost seems like most places I go some people know me.
I don't really know how I feel about it. It's not a bad thing… it just feels strange.
But the nicest, strangest and best story I had recently was when I was checking in for my flight in Miami to Mexico City (after having been thrown out of the airport the day before for calling a TSA woman an "armed thief" as she took some poor guys duty free away) and an older Mexican lady looked just completely distraught. You can tell when someone is sad or completely destroyed… and she looked destroyed. The people at the check-in counter were compassionate but telling her that they just couldn't do anything to help her.
I asked her what was wrong. She told me that there had been some discrepancy and she had to pay $150 extra to get on her flight to return home to Mexico and she didn't know anyone in Miami and had no means to get the money.
I passed her $160 and she was full of gratitude. She thanked me profusely and asked me for my information to send the money back when she got home and I told her, "Don't worry about it… sometimes people do something nice for me when I really need it too."
I didn't think anyone had noticed but as I completed check-in each of the staff of Aeromexico all came over to shake my hand and thank me for what I had done. As I arrived at the gate I was called forward for a free business class upgrade and more thank you's and hand shakes.
I felt a bit awkward with all the attention but the act of giving gave me a real rush that made me feel very nice. Private person-to-person giving is the antithesis of public theft based welfare.
Here's the strange part though. I was totally exhausted after a week and a half of travel, business meetings and flights and got on the flight and for some reason I was so tired I couldn't sleep… I was beyond exhausted. Knowing I needed a few hours of rest I took out a clozanepam pill that I take when I travel so I can sleep on planes. My wife had just gotten them for me and I noticed they were at least double the size, if not more, of the ones she usually gets for me but I didn't think much of it. I took one figuring I just wanted to pass out and get some rest.
But, after 15 minutes I still couldn't sleep and usually those things knock me out within minutes so I, in retrospect stupidly, took another one.
The next thing I can recollect was waking up in an airport hotel in Mexico City with no idea how I had got there. I had a connecting flight to Acapulco from the night before but apparently I didn't get on it.
All my bags and things were set aside very tidily and all my stuff was laid out on the desk like an assistant or concierge would do (I would normally just throw my wallet and passports on the desk and go to sleep).
I looked through the boarding passes that were also on the desk and I had a new boarding pass for 10am to Acapulco… again, with no recollection of anything after having gotten on the plane in Miami from the previous afternoon.
Confused I turned it over and written on it was "Thank you" and a heart shape.
I went to pay at the check out of the hotel to go get this flight I was apparently booked on but the hotel receptionist said I didn't owe them anything and again thanked me very sincerely.
As I got on the flight I looked through my stuff and noticed that my Mexican tourist card which you have to fill out upon entry was not in my hand writing.
Literally 12+ hours are missing from my life but apparently someone was taking care of me.
I got back to Acapulco and told my wife the story, still very confused. She laughed, "You took at least four times the recommended amount of clozanepam," she said, "and for a three hour flight!"
I laughed, "But the thing is I seriously remember nothing from between about 6pm yesterday until 8am this morning yet somehow I managed to get off the plane, clear customs, have a full nights sleep at a nice hotel and had a boarding pass waiting for me in the morning," I said.
She smiled. "Of course, you gave good energy and you got it back," she said as though it was obvious.
Then my maid who was unpacking my luggage gave my wife a pair of white women's panties which were apparently in my luggage.
My wife gave me a stern but not totally uncommon look.
"I woke up fully clothed in Mexico City," I said. "If something happened I slept right through it," I continued.
It may forever remain a mystery but if anyone knows how I made it from Miami to the hotel airport in Mexico City and why there was a pair of panties in my luggage please let me know! I'm as curious as anyone.
UNTIL NEXT WEEK
I am off to Las Vegas on Tuesday and will be there all week at FreedomFest. I am on a Bitcoin panel with Jeffrey Tucker and the lovely Perriane Boring, then at a screening for a documentary I contributed to called "Freedom From Choice" and then on a panel with Doug Casey and Peter Schiff and then on another panel called "Escape from Amerika: Run You Fools" with Doug Casey again.
And the planning for Anarchapulco, an anarchist festival in the world's 4th most dangerous city (according to the world's largest criminal organization, the CIA) in one of the most anarchic cities in North America is in full swing so stay tuned here for news.
In between times I'll be playing poker in Vegas with some top name poker players and celebrities (who are all TDV readers) and carefully watching my intake of clozanepam.
