A Veteran’s Traveling Home Along The Coast

By Kendra Bobowick

Wayne Miller had high school dreams of being a rock and roll star.

“It was typical 17-year-old stuff,” he said. Able to strum a few riffs during his teens, he added, “If you just turn it up, everything sounds great.”

Life led him astray of any footlights, however.

Despite dreams that remind him of musician Frank Zappa’s lyrics of adults yelling at teens playing guitar too loudly in the garage, Mr Miller is instead homeless, and looks back on a past that includes time at war.

Before he “retired” from his most recent job — he was in construction for about 20 years — Mr Miller was a mechanic, and before that he was in the military where he served 18 months in Vietnam in the early 1970s.

As for construction, “I just couldn’t keep up so I retired,” he said, laughing. “I couldn’t keep up with the 20-year-olds.”

After he stopped working he essentially hit the road and has not slowed down since. For the past six years he has traveled, he said. This week he passed through Newtown with all his possessions packed onto a bicycle with American flags jutting from a bundle in back. Newtown is just one of many stops since he left Florida, where he heads during winter months to avoid the cold.

“I’ll end up in Maine before the summer is over; I am homeless you know,” he said.

Originally from Connecticut, Mr Miller follows the warm weather and most likely is on his way to see a friend in Maine by July.

He describes his annual journey south to north and back each year as primarily enjoyable. He has no complaints.

“I like traveling and can’t seem to stay in one place,” he said. Impressed with the history of places like Gettysburg, for example, he remarks on the history of places he has visited saying, “I see signs for George Washington and think, wow, he was here.”

He said he has friends in places from Florida to Connecticut to Maine, and he knows he is welcome, “But I get cabin fever. I can only stay for a couple of days.”

He considered whether he is content to live a transient life and said, “It’s not any harder than getting up at 4 am and being at work by 6 am to bang nails or swing a hammer. I don’t throw my back out anymore.” Of course, he had not imagined where he would end up, he admits.

Giving his situation a few moments of thought, he said, “I don’t think I could live in one place.”

He is not without motivation and support. In addition to his friends, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital is of some assistance when he needs it, he said.

He also will complete odd jobs when necessary, which are primarily manual labor. Smiling, Mr Miller talks about a local church that welcomed him to enjoy a potluck dinner and gave him some provisions, a Bible, and a parka, he said.

“It is amazing how generous people are,” he said. “Some would take the shirt off their back for you.” Monday afternoon he had stopped for coffee and a rest in a parking lot just off Queen Street, and then resumed his journey to Maine.