Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm pretty much just a hermit in a bunker.
Yesterday my post about air raids made me want to learn more about bunkers and how prevalent they were in the United States during WWII. Upon further research, I found out an interesting tidbit about a WWII era bunker standing in the salt marshes of Fort Fisher in my home state of North Carolina. It was the 2nd most frequented tourist attraction in North Carolina for over 17 years --- but not because of the bunker itself, rather the man who lived in it.
He became quite popular and received more than 100,000 recorded visitors in his 17 years there. He was, in some ways, far ahead of Abby Hoffman and Timmy Leary in his radical, yet “common sense” (as he called them) beliefs. He tuned in, turned on, and dropped out of mainstream culture way before it was cool.
He became quite popular and received more than 100,000 recorded visitors in his 17 years there. He was, in some ways, far ahead of Abby Hoffman and Timmy Leary in his radical, yet “common sense” (as he called them) beliefs. He tuned in, turned on, and dropped out of mainstream culture way before it was cool.
His lifestyle drew attention from all around the world. After his family died of typhoid fever, then his wife cruelly left him, he simply left society and chose to live alone in the wilderness. People were intrigued by him, so they turned a hermit into a tourist attraction. I think he was like an animal at the zoo, but many think he was a sagacious teacher. The situation sort of reminds me of Forrest Gump where he attracts a large group of followers while he’s running across the country. The people follow him hoping he’ll lead them to something, but got dismayed when they realized he didn’t even know where he was going.
Since he had so many guests, I suppose Mr. Harrill wasn’t really a hermit, but more what I’d like to call a “homebody.” Only he was a homebody with a message. So I guess I’m a lot like him, except I like to think I’m not a total whack job when he clearly was one.
I’m a pretty social person, but I like the stability and security of being in my home. I guess you’d call me a homebody. Therefore I like to have house parties and have people over instead of going out too much, but I do go out a lot. In an ideal world, I’d live at home and then get dressed up at night and entertain guests. This summer I had an amazing apartment on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, and my favorite thing to do was entertain guests at home and on my rooftop. Of course, the building had lots of rules about how many people could go on the rooftop at one time, so a lot of time was spent avoiding the doormen. When I am older, I’m going to have a great big house, preferably close to lots of friends, and I’ll just have a party or social gathering every single night. That would make me such a happy woman.
I just hope my surroundings are a little more luxurious than a WWII era bunker in the North Carolina marshlands. It’s sad though, because he was probably killed by a group of rednecks or pranksters. His body was found buried in sand and covered in wounds, but the official coroner’s report says he died of a heart attack. No one ever investigated as to whether or not it was murder.
This is a prelude to a series of pieces I’m going to do on other interesting people in North Carolina. Did you know there is an island of really mean inbred people on the coast called “Crusoe Island?” Rumor has it they put outsiders who wander onto their island in a snake pit.
If you're interested here's a film about the Fort Fisher Hermit. It's actually pretty interesting.
If you're interested here's a film about the Fort Fisher Hermit. It's actually pretty interesting.
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